The Unforgiven
by AndreaTash
Summary: Just what will it take for Princess Leia to forgive her father? Can Luke and Han convince her to let go of the past and accept Vader as a changed man? Maybe, maybe not.
1. Victory

Hi everyone. I'm Andrea. Just thought I'd introduce myself.

I've never written a Star Wars fanfic before. I got this idea floating in my head a couple of years ago now, but never really developed it. Then last weekend, I caught return of the jedi on tv and suddenly i could not get rid of it. So, I went back to my very bare draft from two years ago and decided to make something of it.

I've always been interested in stories where Vader tries to make amends with his children. And I realise there are other stories like this, but I had the need to post it and finish it.

I don't own star wars, obviously. And Darth Vader survives the duel with Palpatine in my story, so it's AU, again, obviously. The story takes off after the Battle of Endor.

Enough blah blah, here's the first chapter.

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**_Endor_**

The hours immediately following the Rebellion's victory at the Battle of Endor went by in a flash for Leia. After the destruction of the second Death Star she had barely enough time to address the damage done to their base, assess casualties and injuries of her fellow soldiers, and rejoice with her friends before the weight of recent events began to settle heavily on her mind. And then time began to stretch, flowing by excruciatingly slow.

Luke's revelation that they were siblings, twins in fact, had not taken Leia completely by surprise. She was actually more surprised at how _un_surprised she had been when he told her. She hadn't been able to dwell on it at the time though. The battle ahead was infinitely more important and had to remain a priority. She would deal with the life changing circumstances at a more appropriate time. Prioritizing had always been one of her strengths, as a princess, a politician, and a fighter.

The time had finally come though. The battle was over. The war was over. They had won, and now Luke's disclosure and all other implications that came along with it suddenly moved from her subconscious to the forefront of her mind. Now she couldn't shake it.

She watched silently as the rebellion erupted in celebration and smiled to herself. Her heart leapt in her chest. After all these years, all the suffering, all the sacrifices...they had won. She wished her parents could be here for this moment, she wished she could share it with them. They had fought so long for it, sacrificed so much. The thought of her adopted parents sobered her and she swallowed past the painful lump in her throat. The grief came at her like that now since the first Death Star and the obliteration of Alderaan. In waves. Heaving, rolling waves that left her numb. She didn't think she'd ever truly cease to grieve for them. Let alone an entire planet. Her beautiful Alderaan.

She had known from a very early age that Bail and Breha Organa were not her biological parents. Their admission had changed nothing within the Organa family unit. The love between them was, and remained, unconditional. She had never even felt the need to search out her real parents and while her mother's identity had been eventually revealed to her as Senator Padme Amidala, former Queen of Naboo, her father's had remained unknown throughout her childhood and adolescence. Until now. Although everyone had claimed ignorance when she asked, she always had the distinct feeling they were intentionally keeping it from her. She now understood why.

_Darth Vader_

The mere thought of his name made her take an involuntary deep shaky breath. Oh, how she wished she didn't believe it! But it was true and now she knew it. And not just because Luke had told her. She felt it in her blood, in her bones, in her heart. She could have lived her entire life without knowing he was her father. She would have much preferred that.

She had told Han already. Knowing the man was her soulmate, she hadn't wanted to keep something so big from him. Besides, she figured, if he was going to freak out and leave her, better now than later. He deserved to know, too. Vader had caused Han great suffering also, and she needed to know if he could look past her parentage and still love her. Bless his big heart, he had not turned her away. He had embraced her and staunchly informed her that it didn't matter. All that mattered was their future, not the past. She didn't quite feel the same way. She wished it didn't' matter, but it did. How could it not? But she didn't tell him that, instead she smiled at him and told him she just needed a little time to herself, to absorb the turn of events. He told her he understood and that he would join the victory celebrations and she should find him when she was ready.

He watched her now, across the crowd as he spoke to Lando and Chewie. Though he appeared cheerful, there was concern in his eyes and an unspoken question. He wanted to know if she was alright. She smiled at him and nodded. They had grown so close over the past few years that they almost didn't need words. _Why did it take us so long?_ She wondered to herself. Maybe the timing just hadn't been right. In any case, it was right now. Everything would be alright now. As soon as Luke came back, it would all be right again.

_Luke_

Her heart constricted with worry. Where was he? She turned and walked slowly away from the festivities. Far enough to get some breathing room but close enough that Han could still see her. She sat on the edge of a large log a few yards away from the command tent and immersed herself in her thoughts again.

Leia knew her brother was alive. She had felt his fear and anger during what she assumed was his showdown with the Emperor. Then she had felt resolve, pain...forgiveness. Light. She knew he had won. Even untrained in the ways of the Force, she knew it. He had not succumbed to the darkness Palpatine had wanted for him. That was all she knew though, and until she saw her brother again all she could do was wait...and think.

She should probably contact Mon Mothma. They had so many things to discuss, not the least being what the fall of the Galactic Empire meant. The coming months, years even, would not be easy. The mammoth undertaking of restoring democracy to the Galaxy would be slow, arduous. But it would be done. Things would go back to the way they were before the Empire. The way they were during her mother's time in government. The ghost of a smile formed on her face as she thought of her biological mother and wondered whether she would be proud of her. From what Bail had told her, her mother had been a political powerhouse, much like she herself was well on her way to becoming before every fiber of her being was consumed with the Alliance's cause. Yes, she should contact Mon Mothma.

Somehow, as much as she needed something to do, she could not make herself move. Much like during her agonizing hours of torture in her detention cell aboard the first Death Star years ago, she was pinned to her spot by one man. She closed her eyes but opened them immediately as unwanted images invaded her mind. Images of a towering man in black, more machine than man, more monster than human. Every memory she had of Vader was wrapped in pain, terror and anguish. She briefly wished Luke had had the honor to kill him too. She became horrified with herself, knowing her father would not condone such thoughts, even for Vader. Neither would Luke, she guessed. Yet, she couldn't help but feel that if anyone in the galaxy deserved to die, it was the Emperor, followed very closely by Darth Vader. And yes, Luke should have that honor.

She must have been so lost in those dark thoughts swimming within her, she didn't even hear anyone coming up behind her. A large hand came to rest on her shoulder and she jumped, startled. She turned to face whoever was behind her, her hand instinctively coming to rest on her holster before remembering she wasn't carrying her blaster.

"It' just me, Leia," Han said with a worried frown on his handsome face. It made her smile.

"Han," She breathed out in relief as she relaxed.

Han took a seat next to her and placed a comforting hand on her leg. "You OK?"

Leia looked down at his hand resting on her thigh and couldn't help as her smile grew wider. An intimate gesture which might have been inappropriate a day ago felt suddenly natural and it was all she needed at that moment. She brought her own hand to rest over his.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I'm just confused, I guess."

"Well, it's been one hell of a day, Princess," he said, offering her one of his trademark smirks. The kind that made her heart beat faster.

She laughed at Han's ability to lighten her mood with such a simple understatement. "That it has, Captain."

"The hardest part is over," he said, bending down to place a kiss on top of her head as he pulled her closer to him with his arm.

_Is it?_ She wondered.

She reveled in the comfort of such a simple gesture, wishing she could truly believe that. She sat quietly, content for the moment with Han's arm around her. Her one anchor to sanity.

It was some time before her voice broke the silence, unable to leave her fear unvoiced.

"Why haven't we heard from him yet?" She asked, her voice trembling.

She felt Han's arm tighten around her and his posture became more rigid. She wondered if he too was feeling the same concern for Luke, but when he spoke again she had the feeling he'd been bracing himself for what he was about to say to her.

"Sweetheart," he said so gently and softly her heart started to flutter again at his use of the endearment. So heartfelt. "Maybe we should prepare to accept he might have…"

"He's alive, Han!" She screamed vehemently, his words frightening her though she didn't understand why. She knew her brother was alive. She softened at his expression.

"Are you sure?" He pleaded. There was a hesitant hope in his eyes and she realized he was just concerned for his friend and preparing himself for the worst. She felt compelled to put him at ease.

"Han," she said grasping his hands tightly. "I can feel it, he's alive."

"I believe you, love," he seemed reassured and nodded. It wasn't long until he felt the obviously unstoppable urge to lighten the tension with his blunt sense of humor. "Think you can reach out with your Force thing and tell him to get his Jedi ass back to camp?"

She laughed and brought her lips up to him in a deep lingering kiss. "That's actually not a bad idea, Han."

"If that's my reward for them, I promise to have more," he said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

Leia closed her eyes with a smile and tried to relax, focusing her energy on trying to reach her twin brother. Han sat quiet beside her, as if he sensed her need for silence. Since Bespin she'd been somewhat able to reach Luke through the Force, albeit rather unconsciously since she'd never been trained. She figured Luke would feel her call to him and that he would answer her call. It felt like her mind was grasping tendrils of smoke, but little by little the smoke began to feel more solid and she felt a surge of excitement as she realized she was actually doing it. She knew she was getting closer to him as her mind began to clear. There was light, warmth and the unmistakable presence that was Luke. She wasn't sure how to speak to him and suddenly wished she'd had some form of training from Obi Wan or Yoda. Or even Luke himself.

She hesitated for only a moment, but that was all it took. The light dimmed and she realized there was something blocking her from Luke. Blocking her from seizing full power of the Force. Something dark, something disturbing. She couldn't identify it. Fear gripped her and she withdrew, opening her eyes to meet Han's expectant gaze.

"I couldn't do it," she said shakily.

"It's OK," he said gently caressing her cheek.

"Princess Leia!"

Leia and Han looked up to find a Rebel soldier running, towards them. He stopped a few feet from the couple, slightly embarrassed at interrupting what was very obviously an intimate moment.

"Yes?" Leia asked.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Your Highness," he said urgently."We've just received a transmission from an Imperial ship requesting your attention."

She immediately stiffened and desperately reached for Han's arm, clutching it tightly. An imperial transmission? For her? From whom? She turned bewildered eyes to Han and he looked back at her with a suspicious frown on his face. He didn't like the sound of this.

"Who is it?" Han asked the young soldier stiffly.

"It's Luke Skywalker, Your Highness."

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Please review if you like

Toodles AT


	2. Release

Hi guys

Thank you so much for your reviews. You guys are super sweet. I've got an outline for the whole story, but most of the writing I like to do as the story moves along. I warn you also that I pretty much only get to do this on weekends as I don't have the time on weekdays (I have a bit of a crazy job). I'm not quite sure yet, but I'm aiming for at least 5-6 chapters for this (maybe more), like I said i have an outline but i'm undecided as to how to split it for the time being.

Anyway, I'll let you get on to the next chappie. And by the way, reviews always make me write faster and get another chap out there for you guys.

Toodles AT

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**Star Destroyer, Chimaera**

The welcome Darth Vader received upon arriving on the landing dock of the Star Destroyer Chimaera with his son beside him was mixed. Vader could tell the Imperial soldiers were both disappointed with their defeat by the Rebel Alliance, yet relieved with the destruction of the Death Star. He could not fault them for that. He was similarly relieved by the destruction of such an abomination. Though he'd never voiced his opinion in front of the Emperor, he had always considered the Death Star to be one of his Master's most abhorrent creations. The Emperor had known his feelings in the matter of course, and in fact, had appointed Darth Vader to oversee its construction for precisely that reason. He smiled inwardly at the thought of his sadistic Master meeting his end in the very machine he thought would make him unstoppable. Undefeatable. Fate had a poetic sense of humor, he mused.

Vader wondered briefly if word of the Emperor's demise had spread to the Imperial troops but his doubts were quickly laid to rest when in an almost synchronized motion, the soldiers around the landing bay dropped to one knee and bowed their heads as he and Luke walked down the ramp of the escape shuttle they'd used to evade the explosion of the Death Star. Again, he sensed their relief at Palpatine's death, along with a clear undercurrent of uncertainty. They didn't know what would happen next. Vader understood them. He didn't know what would happen next either. One thing he was certain of though, he would now rule the galaxy with his son by his side.

He had sent communication to the Imperial ship prior to his arrival. Or rather, he'd had Luke do it as his respirator and mask had been too damaged during his duel with Palpatine for him to breathe properly, let alone speak. As he had requested, Admiral Piett awaited his arrival on the dock, flanked by two medical droids. Piett stepped forward to meet him. He also seemed apprehensive, Vader noted.

"Lord Vader?" the Admiral asked unsurely.

Vader regarded the man for a moment. Piett was one of the very few people in the entire Galaxy to have had ever set eyes on the Dark Lord without his mask, so Vader knew the man's hesitation was not borne out of shock, or horror. He gathered news had spread that not only had he renounced the dark side and destroyed the Emperor, but also that Luke Skywalker was Vader's son, which in turn revealed Vader to be the once famous and heroic Jedi Knight, Anakin Skywalker. Piett's uncertainty, Vader realized, was because he wasn't sure how to address him now. If Vader had not been in such agonizing pain he might have laughed and offered the admiral a sarcastic comment curtly informing him he may have changed, but he had no intention of changing _that_ much. Anakin Skywalker was a long forgotten name, from another lifetime. Anakin Skywalker had no place in the Empire.

But he could not speak. As it was he could barely breathe and Luke, seeing this, spoke for him.

"We need to get to the medical bay," he said urgently, taking his father's arm in support. "Now!"

Piett came out of his stupor and sprung into action. The medical droids took hold of Vader's battered body and carried him out of the landing dock, with Luke and Piett following close behind. Once they left, the dock was once again thrown into a flurry of organized chaos as the Imperial troops continued their preparations to make a hasty retreat from Endor and the Rebellion's reach.

It wasn't long before Vader felt more like himself again. Once in the medical unit the droids went into work on him, quickly replacing his respirator and mask. Vader watched silently as Luke stared at him unflinchingly through the whole treatment. Vader wanted to reach out to his son with the Force but still felt weakened. Faintly, he felt Luke through the Force; a swirling vortex of emotions. Still charged from his duel with the Emperor and the fight with his father, Luke's power within the Force wasn't just palpable, it was swelling within him and radiating in violent waves. Vader wondered if Palpatine had sensed a similar maelstrom of power within him that day over twenty years ago, when he'd pledged his allegiance to him, to the Dark Side. The day he'd become a Sith Lord. Vader could feel his son teetering on the delicate edge between light and dark. _A slight push_, he thought to himself,_ that's all it would take_.

Vader shook the thought from his mind. That wasn't what he wanted for his son. He'd never even truly wanted it for himself. He thought of all the years he'd spent as a slave to the Dark Side. As a slave to Palpatine. Even now, he could not deny the Dark Side had bestowed upon him powers beyond the imaginable. But the Dark Side was all too consuming and had left him with nothing more than burning rage and hatred, which his Mater had fed with pleasure. It hadn't taken long for Vader to lose all reason to fight it. What would have been the point of renouncing the Dark Side after everything that had happened since that fateful day on Mustafar? After everything he'd done. Everything he'd lost. After... _her._

Vader didn't like to admit he was ever wrong, but after more than two decades he could acknowledge now that in the midst of his despair and fear of losing his pregnant wife, he'd made the wrong decision in trusting Palpatine. But then again, it wasn't the first time he'd placed his trust in someone who would eventually betray him.

_Obi Wan._

Vader unconsciously clenched his fists, his leather gloves crackling loudly in the large room. He held no love for the Jedi Order, and though part of him felt some remorse at his actions during the Jedi purges, he could not forget how he'd been denied the chance to save his mother. That was how it had all started, he realized. His mother. It enraged him to think how easily her death could have been avoided. How easily he could have saved her in time. But Obi Wan had held him back. He had always been held back by the very man he'd admired and worshipped, the man he'd come to love as a brother.

His hatred for Obi Wan had never burned as bright as it had that day on Mustafar. The events leading up to that cataclysmic duel with his former Jedi Master had propelled his anger to heights he'd never felt before. Anger he'd never thought he'd feel again. Until the day he'd found Luke. Obi Wan had not only betrayed him and almost killed him in that hellish planet. He had done worse than that. He had hidden his child from him. _Children_, as he had now come to discover. He had let Vader believe they had died with his wife. Obi Wan had betrayed him in every way imaginable.

After losing his beloved Padme, his children may have been the only obstacle between him and the Dark Side; the one reason to bring him back, with the power to release him from Palpatine's bondage. But they had been taken from him. Hidden from him. His anger swirled again at the thought of yet another chance denied to him by the supposedly compassionate Jedi Order. His son Luke, hidden by his former Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi. In his old home planet of Tatooine, no less.

His daughter Leia, on the other hand, had been hidden in plain sight. How many times had he faced Bail Organa in the Senate? How many times had the man pledged allegiance to the Empire? Lied to him about his ties with the Rebellion? All the while he had been raising his daughter, right under his nose. Vader had always assumed Bail to be nervous around him due to the fact he was one of the few men in the galaxy to know his true identity, to know who he had been and how far he'd fallen. But he now came to understand there had been infinitely more than that underlying the Senator's tension. Hatred for the man formed within Vader. How could Bail have allowed Leia to join the Rebellion knowing he had been charged with eradicating it? Had he not thought about what could happen if he ever got his hands on her?

His thoughts turned to that day on the first Death Star. The first time he'd been alone with the Princess, his daughter. He should have recognized their kinship then, but of course, he hadn't really known to look for it. And yet, it was so obvious now. So painfully obvious. Even from the surface of the Endor Moon he could faintly sense his daughter's presence in the Force, tethered thinly to that of his son's. But that day, on that Death Star, he'd had no idea. Sure, he'd felt the Force within her and he remembered with sickening guilt, the satisfaction and anticipation he'd felt when Tarkin informed him that he'd been tasked with executing her after her interrogation. It chilled him now, to think how close she'd come to dying by his hand. Renewed hatred flared for Bail Organa and Obi Wan Kenobi. The knowledge they were both dead did nothing to assuage it. It only meant he could not make them pay now. Now that he knew the truth they'd kept from him for so long.

"Father?"

He was jolted from his reverie and looked at his son. Luke's expression was easily read by Vader; concern. Though Vader could tell his son was overjoyed to be reunited with his father, he could hear the underlying concern in his tone. Vader briefly wondered if the intense dark feelings stirring within him had reached him. He ordered the medical droids to leave, now that his life support system had been repaired. He and Luke were finally left alone and Vader turned to his son.

"I apologize, son," Vader said, reigning in his emotions. "I was thinking of the years I've lost with you...and your sister."

"You're angry," Luke pointed out.

"Yes," Vader admitted. "I have been lied to for too long, Luke. By people I trusted. We all have."

Luke nodded, seemingly satisfied with his father's reasons. "I'm angry too. But everything will be alright now," he said eagerly, rushing to Vader and throwing his arms around him. He let his father go and smiled widely at him. "You'll see."

Unused to gestures of affection, all Vader could muster was placing a hand gently on his son's shoulder. "I hope so, son. We will right the Emperor's wrongs, you and I. I will restore order to the galaxy, with you beside me."

"And Leia," Luke added, his eyes sparkling at the prospect of both reuniting his family and the promise of such power.

"Yes, Leia," Vader said slowly. He had the uneasy feeling that, somehow, his reunion with Leia would not go as smoothly as that with Luke. "She will not accept this easily, Luke."

Vader released his son and motioned for him to follow him out of the medical unit. They maintained a steady pace as they moved through the various hallways leading up to the bridge.

"I know," Luke said sadly, nodding. "But I will make her understand. Everything will change. Everything has changed already,"

Vader wasn't so sure but he nodded anyway. "I will understand if you decide not to stay."

"Father!" Luke said firmly. "I will not leave you now. I won't."

Vader once again felt a surge of power emanating from his son through the Force. Weakly, below the strong current of energy in Luke, he felt the presence of his daughter. She was calling out to Luke.

"Leia!" Luke cried out, a smile breaking across his face as he too felt his sister reach out to him. "She's calling to me!"

He felt his son begin to open a connection with her through the Force. She was untrained and her own connection tenuous allowing Vader to swiftly block it. When Luke realized his father had intentionally severed his link with Leia, he stared up at him with a questioning frown.

"Why did you do that?" Luke asked darkly.

Vader glanced up as the lights in the room briefly flickered "Your feelings are too wild right now, son. You should not use the Force in your state," he explained carefully, speaking from experience. "It is dangerous, for both of you."

Luke accepted his father's explanation, taking a deep breath to calm himself. He noticed the Imperial soldiers around the command deck were watching their exchange with worried glances. Luke lowered his voice. "I need to speak to her. She's worried."

"Use our system," Vader suggested, gesturing to a communications console behind him. "I assume you know how to reach her."

Luke didn't hesitate. He took a seat in front of the HoloNet monitor and without a second thought set up a transmission to the Rebel command tent on Endor. A young Rebel soldier answered him, his voice and expression one of fear as the call was been sent from an Imperial ship. The young man's expression relaxed as he recognized the face of Commander Luke Skywalker.

"Commander Skywalker, good to hear from you," the man said happily, before frowning. Luke figured he wondered why he was aboard an Imperial Star Destroyer. "Are you alright, Sir?"

"Yes," he said quickly. "I need to speak to Princess Leia."

Luke and Vader watched silently as the young Rebel soldier called out for someone to find the Princess and bring her to the command tent; Luke Skywalker wanted to speak to her.

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Alright. Let me know what you think, guys!


	3. Apart

Finally in this chappie Leia and Luke get to have a brother sister chat! Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy this one and keep the reviews coming! constructive criticism is always welcome.

To all of you who have reviewed, thank you a bunch. **cyranothe2nd**, you made an interesting observation there...methinks you're on to something!

OK guys, we'll chat in the next one, until then...enjoy

toodles, AT

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**Endor**

Leia rushed into the makeshift Rebel Command Center with Han trailing close behind her. Everyone stepped aside to let her through and watched intently as the Princess of Alderaan sat in front of the communication panel to address Commander Luke Skywalker. She hardly spared any of them a second glance as her attention zeroed in on the image of her twin brother on the screen before her. From the corner of her eye she saw Han come forward to stand next to her.

"Luke!" she cried, elated. "Thank the stars! Are you alright?"

Luke's face lit up as he took in the sight of his sister's face. He smiled at her brightly. "Leia! Yes, I'm fine. Oh, I'm so glad you're OK." He then turned to Han. "Both of you."

Han looked over at Leia who was trying hard to hold back tears of joy. She let out a laugh, filled with relief and delight.

"You had us worried there, kid," Han said, his slightly chocked voice betraying his nonchalant demeanour. "Your sister was going out of her mind."

Gasps of surprise echoed around the tent as the few soldiers present digested the revelation that Luke and Leia were siblings. Suddenly, Leia realized that not knowing where the conversation might ultimately lead, perhaps it would be more prudent to conduct it in private. She turned to Han to make him aware of his accidental disclosure. He seemed to take the hint and gave her a slight apologetic nod before turning to the soldiers around them.

"Everyone out, please!" he said, trying his new authoritative tone. "Now!"

The Rebels scurried out in hushed murmurings. Both Han and Leia knew that within the hour everyone in the Rebel Alliance would be aware of her and Luke's relation. Gossip like that would spread like wildfire.

"Sorry, Leia," Luke said, his eyes still focused on his sister. "I know should have contacted you sooner, but-"

"Never mind that," she said dismissively before continuing with curiosity. "Luke, why are you on an Imperial ship?... What happened?"

"The Emperor is dead, Leia," he said as his lips turned in a faint smile.

Leia frowned with slight confusion. The revelation was not that startling, though having definitive confirmation of what she had earlier perceived both through the Force and her own intrinsic link with her twin brother was rather heartening and strangely euphoric. Despite all that, a slight shiver managed to work its way down her spine in response to the dark tone marring Luke's normally sweet voice. She brushed off her misgivings and returned her attention to what Luke had just told her; the Emperor was dead.

"It's done then?" she breathed out in disbelief; the question was addressed to no one in particular. She merely felt it needed to be said aloud. She drew her eyes once again to her brother as a brilliant smile broke over her face. "Luke, we've won!"

Han was not so easily convinced. "You killed the Emperor?" he asked in disbelief.

"No, not me," Luke said proudly looking over his shoulder. "my father did."

It took a few seconds for Leia to fully grasp the meaning of what her brother had just said. It hadn't yet occurred to her look beyond Luke's weary but triumphant face on the monitor in front of her. She looked more closely now at his surroundings until suddenly what she had assumed had been a large inanimate object in the background began to become larger and she realized it was moving. Towards Luke.

Her smile faded as with horrifying clarity she became aware that the inanimate object behind Luke was actually a black cape. The rhythmic sounds which were becoming clearer through the transmission, albeit still faint, had become familiarly ominous. And the gloved hand that rose and slowly came to rest on her brother's shoulder belonged to the one man she had hoped she would never have to see again. Her wide eyes followed its every movement in horror and she couldn't help but shake her own shoulder in instinct.

Her heart pounded so loudly she could hear it in her ears. She brought her eyes back to Luke's, searching for meaning in what was unfolding before her.

"Luke?" was all she could manage with a small shaky voice.

"Yes, Leia, our father killed the Emperor," he said steadily as his eyes brightened. "And now the Galaxy is truly ours."

Leia's face paled as the blood drained from her, pooling in a cold pit around her stomach. She felt lead settle within her and she almost gasped at the overwhelming sense of weight that seemed to impede all movement. She felt so heavy she wondered briefly if the gravitational pull of Endor had shifted.

She slowly turned to Han, her hand blindly reaching out for him desperately. This time her eyes filled with tears of horror. She wanted to say something but words, which had always been her most trusted and mightiest of weapons, completely escaped her. She saw her shocked expression mirrored on Han's face. He grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"What are you talking about, kid?" asked Han, trying to keep the uneasiness out of his voice for Leia's benefit.

Though Luke heard his comment, he didn't acknowledge the older man. Luke continued to address his sister, whose expression visibly informed him she did not like the turn the conversation had taken.

"Order will be brought to the Galaxy. I will see to it." Then, to Leia's even greater horror, Luke placed his hand over his father's. "We will see to it."

"No," Leia said barely above a whisper. She shook her head. "This isn't happening."

Leia knew about the futile nature of denial. Denial had never worked for her, but in situations in which she felt out of depth her mind always seemed to instinctively go there, at least until she learnt to process the information. It was like she simply couldn't conceive of a fate that would let this happen. Then again, there were a lot of things in the galaxy she couldn't believe fate had already allowed to happen.

Luke could sense it, her defiance in accepting the truth. He could sense her mind's rejection of the evidence which was so irrefutable, right in front of her. He knew he had to try to make her understand; make her see the extraordinary opportunity in front of them to change the course of history, to shape the future of the entire galaxy. But before they could embark on that, he needed to reunite their family. And to do that, Leia needed to accept their father.

"Darth Vader is our father, Leia," Luke said gently. "You know this now. We can rebuild our family. Start anew."

Leia sat unmoved, too paralyzed to react as she listened to Han try to talk some sense into her brother.

"Luke, you have to come back to us," Han tried as his tone became increasingly agitated. He wasn't about to let Luke go without a fight, but he had the uneasy feeling this was a fight they had lost from the start. "You don't know what you're saying."

"I'm staying with my father, Han," Luke snapped in irritation, finally addressing his friend. His eyes bore Han no warmth though, and his tone left no room for argument. At least, not from Han. "And we'd appreciate it if you stayed out of this discussion. It's a family matter."

That seemed to bring Leia out of her stupor and she once more found her voice.

"What do you mean you're staying?" Leia asked dismayed. "Luke, what about the Alliance?"

"Don't you see, Leia? We are facing a new era, a new Empire," he said as if speaking to a stubborn child. "We don't need the Alliance anymore."

She shivered. Had the temperature suddenly plummeted on Endor?

"What about me, Luke? _I_ need you."

He softened and smiled at her warmly. This had been the opening he had been waiting for. "Come with us, Leia."

She felt Han's hand squeeze tightly around her own and though she didn't look up at him, she could feel his entire body coiling with tension. His breathing quickened and she knew he was struggling to keep his mouth shut as he drew breath after sharp breath through flared nostrils. It reminded her she needed to breathe herself.

"What?" Leia asked, stunned.

"We want you with us. Your place is here, Leia, with your family."

She recoiled violently at his comment; shock replaced with outrage. "That… _thing_ is not my family," she said in a voice so cold it rivaled the icy landscapes of Hoth.

Luke felt a similar outrage at her outburst but managed to successfully reign in his emotions. His father's feelings reached him. Mostly disappointment and regret, but a gentle undercurrent of indignation at Leia's blunt insult swirled dangerously within Vader. Luke knew he had to stop those emotions from gaining momentum.

"But I am," he said steadily. "And I believe our father deserves a second chance."

Leia drew a hand up to her chest, willing her heart to slow down. She felt herself spiraling closer to a complete mental meltdown. How had the day gone from glorious victory to complete disaster so quickly?

"Luke, have you lost your mind?" There was a frenzied pitch to her voice but try as she might she could not manage to avoid it. She didn't know how else to reach her brother. "You can't seriously think of siding with that monster."

"He's not a monster, Leia!" Luke shouted darkly. He took a deep breath and regained his composure, also knowing that an aggressive approach was not the way to win Leia over. He had to appeal to her logical, diplomatic side. Her emotional side. "He's our father, and he wants his daughter with him. Leia, I want my sister back."

"Have you completely forgotten what he's done to me, to Han, to Obi Wan?" she pleaded. "To you?"

"Father has changed. Darth Vader has renounced the Dark Side. Things will be different, Leia."

"Luke, what has he done to you?" Leia asked, her voice now nearing hysteria.

She turned her brown eyes from her brother and slowly drew them to the dark figure next to Luke, struggling to address the man whose face she could not see but knew was watching their exchange closely. She knew he had somehow engineered this turn of events. It was the first time she had addressed him through the entire conversation. With great effort she had consciously ignored his presence so far, but now her own emotions were boiling over.

In a character trait she knew she had not picked up from either of her adopted parents, her temper got the better of her and she struck out violently in exasperation at her own impotence. She screamed at him, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?"

Her anger surprised everyone. Han let go of her hand, but the contact was quickly reinstated when his large hand splayed across her back. He rubbed small gentle circles in an effort to calm her. He too felt powerless. He had no leverage in the argument and all he could offer her was his presence and support.

Vader felt it too, her anger, directed exclusively at him. Though angered at her accusation, he knew now was not the moment to engage his daughter. He would do more damage than good in her state. He withdrew his hand from Luke's shoulder and took a step back.

"He saved my life, Leia!" Luke screamed just as loudly.

Luke seethed. He found her willfulness infuriating and Vader's withdrawal from him in response to her had only incensed him further. He knew Leia would initially resist accepting their father. She had not seen the way Vader had risked his own life to save Luke. But he had been expecting her to respond to him at least. After everything they'd been through for the last five years. He was her brother! How could she not trust him? How could she turn him away?

"Luke, please come back to us." Leia's brief moment of anger had left her emotionally exhausted. With a considerable measure of satisfaction she watched Vader take a step back from her brother. But he was still winning the fight for Luke. With reluctance she let the tears she'd been holding back fall down her cheeks. She could feel Luke slipping from her fingers.

Luke tried to reach out to his father for help but was unable to do so. He could tell Vader had closed himself off from him and completely retreated from Luke's conversation with Leia. He could sense a steady anger raging within Vader and Luke realized then that his father had intentionally withdrawn from him. He wondered why his father was not trying harder to plead his case with Leia.

"I'm not leaving him, Leia," He replied firmly.

"You can't trust him, Luke," she continued. "This isn't right, you know it!'

"Leia, stop," He warned her, frustrated with her stubbornness.

"It's a trick, Luke," she insisted. "Can't you see? He's manipulating you. Whatever he's told you, promised you…it's not real."

Luke's face hardened. He had had enough. He turned to his father and took a deep disillusioned breath. Vader remained silent but nodded slightly at his son.

Luke turned his eyes back to the screen; the warmth in them disappeared as he took in his sister's tear stained face.

"I'm sorry you feel this way. I truly am. But I have made my decision, and clearly so have you," He said callously, throwing a disapproving glance towards Han. "Choosing the smuggler over your family won't be forgotten quickly, Leia."

"Hey, this smuggler has a name," Han said angrily, pointing a finger at the screen. "And he's saved your ass on more than one occasion!"

Luke took no notice of him, instead keeping his eyes on Leia. His tone softened as he looked at her with love. Yes, love, Leia thought, she could feel it.

"One last chance, Leia," he said with a pleading smile. His tone tender. "Please?"

Leia swallowed hard and for a second, her resolve faltered. Her twin brother was calling her. How could she possibly deny him? How could she live without him now that they'd finally found each other? She could feel him pulling at her through the Force.

_Come with us_

Her eyes widened in shock. The blood in her veins turned to ice and she pulled back from his reach instinctively. Come with _us_ his voice had called to her through the Force.

_US_

She remembered Darth Vader and her resolve returned. She shook her head as she recoiled at the thought she'd briefly been considering.

"No, Luke," She said with sad determination. "Never."

Luke's smiled disappeared and his eyes narrowed at her dangerously. He heard his father take a step forward to once again stand by his side in support. Leia noticed and she felt a renewed wave of anger towards her so-called father. She couldn't help but feel he had planned this all along. That this had been exactly what he wanted. Them, apart.

"So be it," He said dispassionately. "Goodbye, Leia."

"Goodbye, Luke," She said swallowing the lump in her throat. "I love you."

Luke's hard façade faltered for a second before his stoic expression returned. He leaned over and ended the transmission.

Leia continued to stare in disbelief at the screen for a few seconds after it had gone black. Once she was certain that the last few minutes had actually happened, the reality hit her and she burst into tears. Han drew her into his arms and she held on to him for dear life, as if she were afraid he'd disappear from her too. She lifted her face to him and looked at him sadly.

"Han?"

He looked at her, lost for words. "I'm so sorry, Leia."

"We're all we've got now," She said

He wiped the tears from her cheek and smiled gently at her. "That's all we need."

* * *

Hope you liked! In the next one Leia and Vader finally meet...stay tuned.


	4. Engagement

_Hi everyone (or rather, those of you still reading)_

_To make up for my delay in updating, I'm rewarding your patience with a long chappie! Yay!_

_This was pretty tough to write for some reason, even though I'd really been looking forward to it. So please let me know how you like it. As always thanks to all those of you who have reviewed - It always makes me happy to see a review in my inbox...and motivates me to keep writing. God knows I need the motivation._

_Anyways, here you go_

_AT_

* * *

**Coruscant**

It had been almost six years since Princess Leia had set foot on Coruscant. Since she had been an official member of the Galactic Senate, she thought to herself ruefully. But even then she had not seen much beyond the Galactic Senate Building. She had certainly never visited the Imperial Palace. Until now.

Not much had changed around the Imperial Center, yet she had to admit the atmosphere was not the one of oppression she clearly remembered. The Emperor had been dead for a little over a year and Darth Vader had swiftly taken over, ruling over the central planets with a tight, yet surprisingly just, fist.

Though it had not been easy, she had managed to convince Han to let her visit her brother alone. Their argument about her visit to Coruscant had been one of their most heated, but in the end he had relented. She had calmly explained to him that this was something she needed to do on her own, if for no other reason than to prove to herself that she could. However, as she approached the Imperial Palace where Darth Vader now resided with his son, Luke Skywalker, she began to slowly regret her decision.

Her eyes darted around nervously, watching soldiers and civilians alike with caution. She did not pass by unnoticed, nor did she think she would. Princess Leia Organa had become an unwitting celebrity throughout the Galaxy, renowned for her actions both in the Senate and the battlefields, but even more so for her private life of late. The media had had a field day with her story as the tragic heroine. She had lost everything and everyone she held dear only to discover that the man with whom she'd fought beside for years in the Rebellion was her long-lost twin brother. To the media's delight, her story did not end there. Her most hated enemy and the most ruthless man in the Galaxy, the fearsome Darth Vader, had turned out to be none other than her and Luke's biological father, the legendary Jedi, Anakin Skywalker. It was enough to make the press jump up and down in pure joy. Her romance with Han Solo, the former Corellian pirate-turned Rebel General, had been the proverbial icing on the cake. Now they hungrily followed the unfolding family affair.

She kept her head held high as people stared at her, walking past them with an air of determination she wasn't particularly feeling at that very moment. She could see it in their eyes. It was the same reserved judgment she would find in the HoloNews, in any of the headlines. She recognized it easily, having seeing it so often in the previous months, mostly from people who didn't know her well and were therefore not privy to all the behind-the-scene details. It was pity, tinged with confusion and frustration. It was the same look she got from her brother in the few times they had spoken since Endor over the HoloNet.

The media seemed to take turns when it came to her, at once painting her as the tragic figure caught up in a nightmarish family drama and then turning on her, branding her the petulant child who could not find it in her cold heart to accept her father as her brother had so graciously done. As most of the Galaxy somehow seemed to have done. But for the most part she had to concede they were taking her side. Her personal life had come under constant scrutiny though, and everyone seemed to be waiting for the moment when she would finally relent and join her family.

She shook her head angrily. How had Vader managed to convince everybody of his change of heart? She laughed aloud at the thought. _Heart!_ A few people threw her strange looks and she recovered quickly. She didn't want to add mental instability to the rapidly expanding list of rumors about her. She did her best to ignore her audience and continued to march purposely to her destination.

Her jaw clenched as she thought about Darth Vader. She hated the man, she truly did, but she could not deny his brilliance. He had convinced everyone he had renounced the Dark Side. Possibly even himself, she mused. He had certainly convinced Luke, and that was what bothered her the most. He had loosened the Imperial grip on the central planets immediately following the Empire's defeat at Endor. He had allowed the Alliance free reign of the distant star systems around the galaxy, ostensibly endorsing democracy. It had not turned out as she expected, though it had probably turned out as Darth Vader expected.

The planets on the outer rim of the Galaxy had quickly descended into chaos. Without the Empire's steel fist to control and contain them, anarchy had ensued as everyone who felt entitled clamored for their claim to power. The central planets had not ignored the omen and instead of embracing a change in government in the form of a New Republic, they had decided to err on the side of caution. They had instead, chosen to remain under Darth Vader's rule. Darth Vader did not rule with the ruthless abandon the Emperor had, and with his son by his side, the hero of the Rebellion, how bad could their rule be?

Had she really been so naïve to think Endor would be the end of the Empire? All the battle of Endor had actually achieved was the end of the Emperor. She wondered bitterly if that had been Vader's plan all along. Eliminate the Emperor, seize Luke to his side as a sympathetic ally, and gain the favor of the entire Galaxy. She let out an angry sigh. He had succeeded, for the most part. Luke seemed so blinded by the illusion of his father's love that he had completely forgotten what the man was capable of.

A young officer, no more than a few years older than her came forward to meet her as she exited the spaceport complex. She had been so lost in her thoughts she hadn't realized he had been heading to her until he was standing in front of her and started speaking.

"Good evening, Your Highness," He said in an official tone ."Master Skywalker is expecting you."

"Good evening," she said tightly, acknowledging him with a small nod. She moved to walk around the man and continue on her way.

"Your Highness," the officer stepped in front of her again, his face showing obvious discomfort, "if you would allow me to escort you to the Palace."

"That's not really necessary, thank you," she said more firmly.

"Please, Your Highness," the man said more softly. "I've been asked to escort you."

She hesitated. She could not quite determine whether the officer's offer to escort her had been a gesture of courtesy or an order. She wanted to protest but in the end decided it was neither the time nor the place to make a scene.

The short trip up to the Imperial Palace was nothing if not awkward. It was also rather amusing to Leia that the officer accompanying her appeared to be just as uneasy as she, if not more so. She smiled slightly as she glanced at the nervous man next to her. He had obviously been ordered to escort Darth Vader's daughter to his residence and anticipated it may prove to be more than a trivial assignment. She wondered if he'd been warned she might make his mission difficult, if he'd been told she'd most likely resist. She debated whether to speak to him as a way to put him at ease, and then sullenly realized that what she actually wanted was the man to speak to her and put _her_ at ease. Before she could muster a topic of conversation, they had reached their destination.

Leia faltered as the guards opened the wide gates to let them in. In the short walk through the immaculate courtyard to the elaborate doors at the entrance to the palace, Leia remembered all the warnings Han had thrown at her. He had warned her that the invitation had been merely a trap to lure her, that they had no intention of letting her out. She had laughed and told him that he was exaggerating, though the thought had already entered her mind before Han had even suggested it. But her last conversation with Luke had been friendly, and she had felt comforted to see the old Luke in her brother. She had not sensed any deception. He truly just wanted to see her. And she definitely needed to see him.

The young officer had opened the door for her and waited for her to go in. He watched her curiously.

"You're expected, Your Highness." He wondered what she was waiting for.

"Thank you," she said, gathering herself.

She walked slowly into the entrance hall and jumped slightly when the doors closed shut behind her. She turned but didn't find the officer there. He had obviously wanted to leave the second he was done with his task. Looking around she realized she was completely alone in the large imposing room.

She had never been to the Imperial Palace, now Darth Vader's residence in Coruscant, but had known people who had. Her father, Bail, had been one of them. She closed her eyes as she thought about the times Bail Organa had made mention of Darth Vader and his meetings with the Sith Lord. He had always seemed agitated when having to meet with Vader. When he came back from Coruscant he would be on edge for days afterwards, as if he was waiting for something to happen. She couldn't begin to imagine what Bail must have felt every time he had to face Vader. She remembered Bail's hesitation when she'd declared she wanted to follow his footsteps and become a senator. How she had fought for that! They'd had some pretty intense family discussions about it. In the end it had been Breha who'd relented, pointing out to Bail that Leia's need to lead and bring forth change ran in her blood. She had been so happy; she would be following her father's footsteps as well as honoring her birth mother.

She brought herself back to the moment, studying the room she was in. Bail had always acknowledged the elegance of the palace. It seemed to her somewhat strange that a man so cold and fearsome could have a home so oddly inviting. The furnishings around the magnificent hallway, though scarce, were delicate and elegant. Although night had begun to fall on Coruscant, the room was flooded with warm light coming from various candles and sconces. For a moment she thought she could overlook the terrifying fact she was standing in Darth Vader's home. It was more terrifying than the idea of Darth Vader actually having a home. She didn't know why, but she somehow expected the man to live out his days in the cold dark recesses of space plotting an endless stream of evil schemes. She couldn't imagine the man being confined by such a simple structure as a 'home'.

Just as she was wondering whether she should call out for someone to announce her presence or explore on her own, she turned to the sound of quick footsteps approaching. A door opened to her left and a smiling Luke starting running towards her. All her misgivings evaporated at the sight of her brother and she threw herself at him. He embraced her tightly, lifting her off the ground in his excitement to see her. He set her back down and it was a few moments before they spoke, both rendered momentarily speechless by the sight of each other.

"I'm so happy to see you, Leia." He was still holding on to her arms, afraid she would disappear if he let her go. "Face to face, I mean."

"I know," she said with a soft laugh. "The HoloNet's not quite the same, is it?"

He grabbed her by her hand and led her onto an adjacent room. She wasn't paying attention where he was taking her, too overjoyed to be in her brother's presence to take in any of her surroundings. She did, however, notice her brother's choice of clothing. It was the same outfit she had last seen him wearing prior to the Battle of Endor. The black robes of a Jedi Knight.

He walked her over to a large fireplace and released her hand. She took the opportunity to take off the chill in her bones and regard him closely. His hair had grown since she saw him last, his blond locks hanging loosely around his handsome face. She was glad his bright blue eyes were still shining with the same exuberance she remembered during his time in the Rebellion and not with the mad gleam they had seemed to exude after Endor. But there was still an aura of darkness around him. She couldn't put her finger on it, and she blamed it on her ignorance of the Force, but there was definitely something brewing within her brother. Something she was certain had everything to do with the man her brother had chosen to put his faith in. She tried not to let her thoughts wonder for long, afraid that Luke would be able to easily read them. Though the last few times they'd spoken had been infinitely friendlier than their conversation at Endor, any mention of Darth Vader always seemed to touch a nerve. In both of them.

He turned to her sharply and she quickly closed her mind, willing it to go blank. But he wasn't looking at her angrily. In fact, he seemed almost amused. Amused at her discomfort, perhaps? It became suddenly very obvious to her that she was in his territory. She was the outsider here.

He removed the cloak he had been wearing around his shoulders and threw them over a large chaise lounge near the fireplace. It was then she noticed not only the lightsaber at his side, but the way he held his arm close to him, as if injured.

"Are you hurt?" she asked in concern.

"It's nothing, Leia."

Her eyes moved to his and she took an angry step toward him.

"Luke, what happened?" Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Did he do that to you?"

Luke shook his head in amusement. "No, of course not."

Her eyes bore into his, clearly she was unconvinced and would not let the issue go without an explanation.

"Leia, the reason our father wears-"

"Don't call him that," she cut him off harshly.

"Don't start this." He didn't want to fight with her, but he was tiring of her unyielding denial .

"Bail Organa was my father," she continued with resolve.

Luke took a deep breath and decided to let her comment slide for the moment. Leia's anger towards Vader was something that would take a very long time to wane, he realized. He had to make her see that everything had changed. The Darth Vader of the Empire she remembered no longer existed. Their father was a man now; a man trying to make amends and pick up the pieces of a government in revolt, a galaxy that was progressively descending into anarchy. But more importantly perhaps, a man desperate to reconnect with his children.

"Leia, the reason Vader wears a mask is because his respiratory system was damaged in Mustafar," he explained."He can't breathe on his own."

She had never actually imagined that Vader's mechanical breathing had anything to do with his inability to breathe on his own. She had never given it that much thought, of course, but somehow she'd figured the mask was part of his costume; a way to foster his intimidating persona. It had evidently also served as an effective way to hide his true identity.

"It breathes for him?"

"Yes, it's a respirator," he continued. "He's had to use it for over twenty years. Since his duel with Obi Wan."

She was taken aback by Luke's revelation. She'd always thought of Darth Vader as a sort of superhuman. Formidable. Invincible. There had actually been numerous rumors floating around the Galaxy suggesting Vader was not human at all. She composed herself quickly and turned the conversation to more comfortable territory.

"What does it have to do with you?"

"His doctors are using some of my lung tissue to regenerate organs for him," he explained, "so he can finally be free of that mask."

"They can do that?" She asked amazed.

"It's worth a try." His tone seemed indifferent but he was watching her closely

"Is he?" She wasn't just referring to the medical procedure and Luke knew it.

"I'm his only genetic match…well," he said with a smirk, "I guess not his _only _match."

He took a seat in front of the fireplace and she followed his lead, moving numbly to one of the chairs near the window where she could observe her brother's every expression as the light from the fire illuminated his face. She thought of Darth Vader without his iconic mask and with morbid curiosity wondered what his face would look like.

"A little like mine." The amusement was clear in his voice and she frowned at him in annoyance. She couldn't tell if he had read her thoughts or merely the expression on her face. He continued, enjoying her sudden discomfort. "You, on the other hand, apparently look like our mother."

She froze at that and stared at him, resisting the powerful urge to beg him to tell her more about their mother. No, this was not what she wanted to speak to him about. She regained her impassive demeanour. "I didn't come here to talk about him."

Again, much to Leia's annoyance, Luke smiled.

"I know," he said leaning back on his seat casually. "In fact, you've done your best to avoid him."

She had postponed visiting her brother on Coruscant for as long as she could. That was true. It was also true that the main reason for her hesitation had been Darth Vader and the blood-curdling prospect of coming face to face with the man who still terrorized her nightmares. But eventually, she had run out of time. Today, she had arrived in Coruscant hours earlier, both eager to see her brother as soon as possible and hoping to get the visit over and done with as soon as possible. She had sat in orbit for some time and eventually gathered courage to land. Then she had sat in her ship at the landing dock for even longer, gathering courage to step out.

She bristled in defiance but responded unconvincingly. "I'm not avoiding him."

Luke laughed "Leia, you've been in Coruscant since this morning." At her surprised expression he regained some seriousness. "You were waiting for him to leave."

Though slightly annoyed that they had figured out what it had taken her hours to admit to herself, she recognized there was no point in denying it. It was very obvious she couldn't really hide her feelings from her twin brother. Nor did she really want to.

"I'm not ready to see him," she said finally.

Luke's heart momentarily soared but he tried to retain his casual expression. He couldn't hide a small smile, however, at Leia's choice of words. She hadn't said she didn't want to see him. She had said she wasn't ready. It gave him hope. Maybe his father was right. Maybe all she needed was time.

"Clearly," he said. "It took some convincing on my part but he finally agreed to leave. He really wants to see you, Leia."

"That makes one of us," she spat sarcastically. Silence settled for minute while Leia stared at her brother. He could tell she was trying to work something out in her mind. "Luke, why are you here?"

He sighed loudly, sensing a nascent flutter of frustration.

"Because our father-"He saw her gather breath to protest but the threat in his voice stopped her, "_our_ father, Leia, needs me….why are _you_ here?"

With their warmth and slight teasing sucked out of the room, Leia moved on to her real motive for coming to visit he brother.

"I'm marrying Han," she said simply and locked her eyes to his.

She wasn't sure what kind of reaction that would elicit from him, so she watched him carefully. He stared at the crackling fire in front of him intently and for a moment she wondered if he had actually heard her.

Luke nodded. Of course she was marrying Han. His feelings were unclear on the matter, he realized. He was happy _and_ unhappy about it. He had always known Leia would end up with the Correlian pirate, but he'd somehow also hoped she wouldn't. She deserved someone better. Still, he figured, she was obviously very happy.

"Congratulations," he said quietly. "When?"

She was a little confused by the flatness in his response. It was probably absurd to expect him to jump up and down in excitement for her, but she had hoped for at least a small measure of enthusiasm.

"In three months, it'll be spring in New Alderaan." She smiled at the thought then turned to her brother, her brown eyes wide and pleading. "Luke, we want you to be there. I want you to be there."

He tried to hold back a smile but she spotted it and it made her grin wider. "Really?"

"How many brothers do you think I have?" He continued to watch her cautiously and she laughed. "You will be there, right?"

He shook his head as the shock wore off. "Of course," he said standing up and walking over to her. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. "Of course I'll be there."

After a year of being separated from him she could contain herself no longer. She embraced him tightly and let out a deep sigh as she felt his own arms enfold her. She had waited too long for this moment.

"You've made me so happy, Luke," she said with unshed tears of joy. "It wouldn't be the same without you."

"What about father?"

Her entire posture went rigid in his arms. She pulled away from him abruptly and stared into his eyes, stunned.

"Are you serious?" she asked.

"Will you invite him?" he asked. "For me?"

She stared at him blankly. Yes, he was serious, she realized.

"Absolutely not," she replied in indignation. "I will not be inviting the man who almost killed me _and_ Han to our wedding!"

"It would really please him," he continued, seemingly undeterred, "and it would be a perfect opportunity to-"

"You can't be serious, Luke." She said, her voice rising with righteous anger. "Most guests will be members of the Alliance, people Vader spent years hunting down as traitors."

"It's _your_ wedding, Leia," he countered.

"There will guests, refugees, from Alderaan, Luke." She yelled. "Friends of my parents. They don't want him there!"

"It shouldn't matter what they-"

"_I_ don't want him there, Luke!" She yelled violently and pulled away from him further. _"I_ don't."

Silence settled around him and Luke seethed in anger.

"What do you want, Leia?" He said through clenched teeth "Like it or not, he_ is_ your father! What is it going to take for you to accept him? You need to try!"

"I don't need to do anything, Luke!" she said exasperated. "I don't want him in my life. I want _you._"

"You need more time," he said, quoting his father's belief and trying to placate his sister.

"No, I don't need time," she said. "Luke, try to understand this…I want nothing to do with him."

He took a couple of steps back from her too, trying to control his anger. He shook his head angrily and stared at her with fierce eyes.

"Then I want nothing to do with you," he said, rendering her speechless ."You should leave."

"You don't mean that," she challenged.

"I will have a guard escort you to your ship." He walked to the door without sparing her a second glance.

She flinched at the coldness in his voice and followed him back out to the entrance hall. "This isn't you, Luke. Why are you doing this?"

"Because, I see in him what you don't want to see." His heated voice brimmed with passion thinking about his father's recent transformation and all that they had and would achieve together. "I see our father. I see a man who is trying to atone for his mistakes. I see a man who needs someone to believe that he can change."

"You're seeing things that aren't there, Luke," she said desperately. "You trust him too much. There's nothing stopping him from turning back into the same heartless monster that terrorized the galaxy for decades."

"Yes there is, Leia. Us," he said, devotion and vehemence clear in his narrowed eyes. "You and me."

"No, you're wrong." She shook her head vehemently. "You don't know realize what you're doing. What he's doing to you."

"No, _you_ don't!" he corrected her angrily. "You're too blind to see. Too shortsighted to seize this opportunity. To unite the galaxy once and for all."

"He's changing you!" she screamed. "Being around him is changing you!"

"Are you done?" he said, silencing her. He turned from her to the officer who had escorted her to the palace earlier and addressed him as his manner suddenly changed from one of fuming anger to official authority. "Please escort Princess Leia back to her ship and see that she leaves Coruscant."

She hadn't realized there was anyone nearby and she wondered how long the man had been standing there, and how much he'd heard of her argument with Luke. Somewhat selfishly, she wondered if it would be the kind of gossip the man would risk his job, and possibly life, to leak to the media. Concern and indignation won over any desire she had left to plead to her brother, to beg him to come to his senses. She was Princess Leia Organa and she would _not_ beg. She had come to see her brother with a peace offering, and he'd thrown it back in her face. Once again, without even been in the same room, Darth Vader had won.

"I can see myself out." She left the room before her composure crumbled. Before Luke could sense the raging hatred that was building for Darth Vader; the man who had turned her brother against her.

She stepped out onto the courtyard and took large gulps of air. Night had fallen over Coruscant and she wrapped her arms around her small frame. The night was mild and still she felt cold.

She stormed past the sentries as their gaze followed her menacingly and almost smiled to herself in disbelief at how much things had changed. One year ago, if she'd wandered into the Imperial Palace she would have been executed on sight. Yet now, not one of those guards would dare touch her. She wondered if they had been pulled aside earlier that day and notified of her arrival, informed they were to let her walk in and out, unhindered.

She made it halfway to the gates before his voice stopped her.

"Congratulations, Your Highness."

She hadn't heard that deep mechanical voice in so long, yet nothing could make her forget it. It was as clear as that day back on the first death star when she lost her family and planet, as frightening as that day on Bespin when she lost Han. It froze her in her spot and chilled her to her very bones. She didn't want to face him but also didn't want to give him the satisfaction of doing what she really wanted to do, which was to run all the way back to her ship then fly straight to Han.

She raised her chin defiantly and turned to him with her most regal demeanor. In the moonlight her eyes found him, a dark skulking figure next to the door. She realized she must have walked straight past him without even knowing. She remained silent, not quite trusting herself to form an articulate retort. Yet.

"On your engagement," he said finally.

Vader watched his daughter closely. They stood no more than ten yards away, yet they may as well have been light years apart. The fear was palpable and it didn't surprise him. He didn't like it, but he expected it. The anger was also expected and he sensed it clear as day. The love for her brother was there too, together with a deep sadness. He knew it was from her fight with Luke. To her credit, he thought with no small measure of admiration, her voice remained impassive. A true politician. A true royal.

"Tell me, Lord Vader," she said, spitting out his name like it made her nauseous and revolted her to even say it aloud, "is this all part of your plan?"

"Plan?" He tilted his head to the side, as if he didn't understand. It only made her angrier, but she didn't show it. Though she guessed he could easily sense her emotions.

"Turning my brother against me," she added. "It's what you wanted, isn't it?"

"Of course not," he said, almost offended.

She took a couple of steps towards him and he felt both her fear and anger spike.

"I will never forgive you," she hissed through clenched teeth. "Not for this"

"I will speak to him."

It had not been the answer she'd expected. She regarded him curiously for a moment, wondering what kind of game he was playing with her. If Luke was right, Vader had renounced the Dark Side but from what she gathered, Luke himself had slowly begun to drift away from the Light Side. Somehow they had managed to meet each other in the murky middle.

She wondered now if _this_ was part of his new plan. Speaking to her brother on her behalf and coming across as the benevolent misunderstood father whose bitter obstinate daughter was unable and unwilling to forgive him. She realized it could possibly alienate Luke even further from her.

"Yes, I'm sure," she said sarcastically, turning around and walking away towards the gates.

"I _have_ changed, Leia," he said after her. "I will make you see it."

"I'll be in New Alderaan, holding my breath," she scoffed, waiting for the guards to open the gates for her. They were not looking at her, instead their eyes focused on their leader, awaiting his command. She turned impatiently to Vader; her eyes angrily daring him keep her locked in with him.

"I hope we meet again soon, Leia," he said with a small nod to the guards. They promptly opened the doors for her. She wasted no time and walked out.

"I don't," she said loudly over her shoulder without looking back.

Darth Vader stared after his daughter, his eyes following her small form until she disappeared in the distance and the guards closed the gates behind her. He stood silently, debating with himself on whether coming back to the Palace to meet her had been a good idea or not.

"You weren't supposed to return until she left." Vader turned to find Luke beside him, his voice tight with frustration. "It was too soon."

"I wished to see her," Vader stated simply. It was true, he admitted to himself and Luke freely.

"How did it go?"

Vader's breathing reigned over a moment of silent contemplation. Finally, he acknowledged his son's question.

"It was too soon."

Luke let out a laugh and Vader found himself less discouraged by the tense encounter with his willful daughter.

"I'm afraid I fared no better."

"Your sister is very stubborn"

"Don't blame me for that," Luke said, turning to head back into the Palace. "She gets it from you"

Vader turned to Luke sharply. Luke recognized a couple of chortled sounds from Vader's respirator as his father's laughter.

"Indeed," he said finally.

* * *

Please, please let me know what you thought.

I won't tell you what happens next but...I think it's time for Han to make another appearance. I know _I_ miss him.

AT


	5. Bargaining

Thank you everybody for the wonderful reviews. I'm glad you liked the last chapter. I apologize again for taking so long in posting this next one. There's a few reasons for my delay, but the main one is that I've started writing a new fic (for Red Eye) and I'm struggling with going back and forth between the fandoms…I tend to lack a bit of focus sometimes. There, I admitted it!

Here you go.

* * *

**Star Destroyer, Chimaera**

As was his custom, General Han Solo had not formulated a logical plan. He had no further strategy beyond locating Darth Vader's ship and demanding an audience with him. Leia would reproach him for lack of foresight, he thought sadly, even though they both knew she was just as impetuous herself.

Now here he was. On Vader's ship. Completely out of his depth.

"General Solo," Vader acknowledged the man with a slight nod.

Han looked up at Vader with wide eyes. He had not actually expected to meet directly with Leia's father, but more than that he was unprepared to be met with the man's naked face. Aside from ordinary morbid curiosity, Han had never really given much thought to what Darth Vader's face might look like under his trademark mask, but being greeted by a handsome if somewhat scarred and weary face that reminded him so much of Luke, was a shock to say the least.

Han studied the man before him carefully. After Leia's last visit with her brother in Coruscant, now almost two years ago, she had told him about the experimental procedure that might provide Vader with the ability to survive without his respirator. Though Vader still wore the mask in public, some Holopics had managed to surface. But it had not prepared him for this. In a trance, Han drank in the older man's features, astounded at the remarkable resemblance to Luke, down to the dark blond hair framing his face.

"Vader?" His voice held a distinct note of disbelief.

Vader's eyes narrowed and Han almost shivered at the way it reminded him of Leia. It was the same stormy look she gave him when she was about to draw him into an argument she knew he had no chance of winning. Han got the impression he was being judged, Darth Vader was coldly taking measure of him and from the look on the older man's face, he'd come up quite short.

"You may address me as Lord Vader, General," Vader stated firmly.

Han faltered. The voice was different. It wasn't the rumbling deep bass he had associated with the man for years. The mechanical hiss of the respirator was gone also. Instead, Vader's voice, though just as commanding as it had been in the past, was now a soft baritone marred by a slight rasp. Han noted his presence was no less intimidating. Vader still dressed in black, with armor and a long flowing cape. He briefly wondered if he wore it for the sake of appearances or if some habits were just too hard to break.

The awkward moment was broken by Luke, having entered the bridge of the ship after hearing news of the Millennium Falcon docking with the Star Destroyer, Chimaera.

"Han!" He called out cheerily. "Didn't expect a visit from you."

Han snorted as he raised his chained hands in front of him and motioned his head to the two guards flanking him, blasters in hand.

"Is this how you greet your visitors?" He asked sarcastically.

"You're not a visitor, Han," Luke said, his cheerful demeanor gone. "You're a traitor. Do you know what we do with traitors?"

"I remember, yes," Han watched his old friend warily. "Are you going to execute me?"

Luke sighed impatiently. "Of course not, Han. I'm not a monster. You were my friend and despite our…differences…I still care for you."

"Then why the chains, Luke?"

"Because I know you," Luke said as his smile returned. "I'm not taking any risks. I just haven't decided what to do with you."

The banter had softened the tension and for a short moment both men could forget where they were and the events that had transpired to bring them here, to that very moment where they stood on opposite sides of much more than just a family feud. It could have been another moment in time, years ago, when they were fighting side by side against a seemingly invincible foe. Brothers in arms.

Han remembered the reason for coming and sobered. "Well, before you do, would you care to find out why I'm here?"

Luke frowned. Yes, he did want to know what Han was doing here. So far they'd exchanged some harmless chitchat, but beneath Han's disinterested demeanor Luke could sense his underlying fear. Not for himself.

"Why are you here, Han?" Luke asked him seriously.

Han looked from Luke to Vader solemnly. "I need your help."

Luke looked towards his father who until now had merely stood by silently, watching their interchange with interest. He reached out to him through the Force.

_Something's wrong father_

"Leia," said Darth Vader, his penetrating eyes locked onto Han's.

Han turned towards him sharply. His indifferent front crumbled and he looked pleadingly at Vader and Luke.

"I haven't heard from her in over a week. She was on an aid mission," he said desperately. "We've looked everywhere for her. I thought maybe you…I just need to know if…-"

He didn't finish the sentence, but he didn't have to.

Vader's tone was dangerously composed, almost challenging as he took a step towards Han. "Do you think we have taken her, Solo?"

"Well, I'll admit the thought did cross my mind," Han threw back at him.

Vader's expression darkened dangerously. "How dare you suggest-"

As Vader gathered momentum to launch into a furious tirade, Han wondered for a brief moment what the hell he was doing. But Vader taking umbrage to his suggestion was a little more than he could bear. Leia had been right; the man had a very selective memory of past events.

"Suggest what? That you'd take her? Hold her prisoner? Torture her?" Han screamed. "Wouldn't exactly be the first time!"

Done with words, Darth Vader raised his hand towards Han, ready to choke the life out of the pirate. Luke anticipated his father's intent. He reached out and placed a hand on his father's shoulder, recognizing Han's outburst had been borne merely out of desperation.

"No, father," he said evenly. "Please"

Vader dropped his hand and took a deep breath to reign in his growing rage. Though he still found it rather difficult to control his anger, he was getting better at not letting his anger control him. But the pirate was trying him.

"My daughter is not here, Solo. As I recall, she chose _you,_" he stated menacingly, with a slight hint of resentment, Han noted. Vader looked away and turned to Luke. "Luke?"

Luke had reached out to his sister a few times over the last couple of years. Despite their estrangement, the need to remain connected somehow had been undeniably powerful in both of them. He closed his eyes and reached out to her, struggling to make contact when he didn't know where she was, or if she was even alive…the thought chilled him and he shook it from his mind, focusing again on her presence.

Luke inhaled sharply. There it was. Faint…tenuous…but present.

_Leia_

His eyes opened and he looked from Vader to Han.

"She's alive," Luke said.

Han let out a breath of relief and to his surprise, so did Vader.

"But she's hurt," Luke said, looking at his father helplessly.

"Where? Where is she?" Han asked desperately. "Who's got her?"

Luke turned to Han, shaking his head. "I don't know. I can't quite reach her. I just…feel pain…fear…hers. She's very weak."

"You have to, Luke. Please!" Han said, grabbing Luke's shoulders. "Please help me find her."

Luke regarded Han closely. When he'd heard that Han and Leia had finally married he'd been furious, but not surprised. Even before he'd learnt Leia was his twin sister, he'd considered Han beneath her. She deserved better, and of that he had no doubt. One thing he could not deny though, Han loved Leia. That much was clearly evident in the normally cocky man now falling apart unabashedly before his very eyes. He had to admit it would have taken a significant amount of courage for Han to come to him and his father for help. Perhaps Leia did deserve someone who loved her this much.

Darth Vader watched the entire scene unfold before him in silence. His intense dislike of Han was rapidly becoming replaced by concern for his daughter, followed closely by a rising anger at whoever was responsible for her predicament. He let the anger swell within him, but kept it simmering below the surface. He would let it free when the time was right. He smiled slightly in anticipation. He may not be a Sith anymore, but he was also no Jedi. He was Lord Vader and they would pay.

"We will find her, General Solo," Vader said calmly with an edge of menace.

Han looked up from Luke and stared at Vader, frowning suspiciously.

"I just want you to remember I came to you as a last resort," he said with an arrogance he didn't really feel at that moment. "I knew you'd be the only ones who could help me find her. But no funny business, are we clear?"

"You are hardly in a position to make demands, Solo," Vader hissed with another step towards him. "In fact, it seems we now have the upper hand. We will help you on one condition."

Han seethed with fury. "My wife is not a bargaining chip, Vader!"

Vader's jaw clenched at the pirate's outburst. Taking deep measured breaths he focused on once again reining his rage in. As much as he detested been reminded that this no-good smuggler had married his daughter, it would do no good to take his anger out of him now. Solo did not deserve it, and the situation did not call for it.

He and Luke were now presented with the opportunity they had been waiting for the last three years and he was going to pounce on it. Leia would be his and his family at last complete. Well, _almost_ complete, he thought ruefully.

"I will find my daughter. My son and I will bring her back. You have two choices, General," he said casually, knowing he held all the cards. "You can come with us, or you can go home. Either way Leia will stay here, with us."

"What? Never!"

"It's not negotiable, General."

"She's my wife!" His voice rising in despair.

"She is my daughter! She is Luke's sister!" Vader matched Han's rising voice, oblivious of the guards around the bridge watching the scene in apprehensive wonder. "She belongs with us."

"I won't allow this."

"You don't want our help then, General? Am I to understand that you'd rather leave Leia to her fate?"

Han swallowed hard and closed his eyes, not only in frustration but also in defeat. He knew it wouldn't be easy getting their help to find Leia and he'd expected something along these lines. In fact, he'd half expected to be killed on the spot. And he still might once they found Leia. And most definitely would if Leia were not to make it out of this alive. His heart constricted painfully at the mere thought. No, Leia would live, and she would never agree to stay with her father and brother. She would go back with him to New Alderaan and they would be happy once again. Once he found her they'd figure this out together, right now he just needed to get her back and this was the only way.

Han was sure of one thing though, Vader severely underestimated Leia's hatred for him. Han wondered if Darth Vader realized that when it came to Leia, he was actually his biggest advocate.

"Fine, I'll come along," he said not wanting to argue the point. "But know that I'm not happy."

"I'm not happy about the fact you married my daughter and failed to protect her," Vader said pointedly, smiling slightly in satisfaction when Han's shoulders slumped even further.

"We're wasting time," Luke spoke up finally. "Leia's calling out."

Vader and Han broke their staring match and turned to Luke.

"Do you know where she is, Luke?" Vader asked, walking over to his son.

"I need more information," Luke said with worry. "We need to hurry."

"How can I help?" Han asked.

Luke rushed to the nearest flight command panel, swiftly pulling up the star map to the outer rim of the galaxy on the screen. He turned around to find his father and Han had followed him and were standing right behind him. He focused frantic eyes on his brother-in-law.

"Han, show me the flight path for her aid mission."

* * *

I promise to update sooner next time! Promise!


	6. Rescue

**Sorry everyone, something funky happened with the chapters. I've reposted.**

Hi guys

I am so super sorry it's taken me this long to update. I got distracted by another story I just posted. And by life. I apologise for m ADD.

Anyway, here's the next chapter. And this time maybe I won't promise to update sooner, because clearly I can't keep my promises. Not to worry though, I will finish this story.

Thanks to those who review. It's the best kind of motivation, really.

Toodles

AT

* * *

**The Outer Rim**

The Outer Rim of the galaxy had always held a special place in Luke's heart. Even after years of living with his father in Coruscant, and years before that living in an out of the Rebellion's ships and the Rebel Alliance's random command outposts, had not dampened the bittersweet longing he felt when he thought of his old home planet of Tatooine and the simple, yet happy childhood he'd enjoyed with his uncle and aunt. A lifetime ago.

He sat on the co-pilot chair now, as his father steered his ship past the planets and moons leading to the edges of the galaxy on the Corellian Run. He could hear and feel Han fidgeting in the seat behind him. Han Solo was too on edge to even speak. In fact, the three of them had been flying in silence since their departure from the Chimaera. Luke ventured a glance towards his father. Vader remained quiet as he navigated through the empty darkness, his eyes intensely focused on the vastness of space before them.

Luke had flown with his father before, but now the mood was different. As the distant shape of Tatooine became visible and they slowly began to pass it, he noticed his father quickly glance his way. Their eyes had met for only a second but that second had been charged with something indefinable. It was a poignant reminder that they shared a difficult past, a past which they had somehow succeeded in overcoming. And just like that brief moment, their home planet, as well as their past, was behind them.

"Do you miss it?" Luke's voice cut through the strained silence of the cockpit.

Vader's thoughts had been swimming in a dark territory in which he had not dared to venture for some time. Sitting next to his son, flying past the familiar outline of both his and Luke's home world, was too unsettling to deny. He turned to his son with a taut smile. He didn't like talking about his past, his previous life, his painful history. He never volunteered information freely, but he forced himself to do it for the sake of Luke. He had made a deal with his son. To never lie to him.

"Sometimes," Vader said softly, but as usual he didn't elaborate.

Luke nodded, acknowledging that that was as much as his father was willing to admit to at that point.

"I do, too," Luke said quietly. "But not as much as I used to."

Han watched them closely. Though only a few words had been exchanged between the two men sitting in front of him, he could not help but feel that so much more had been conveyed between father and son in those few words and fleeting glances. Had he not been so worried about his wife, he would have willed the trip to last longer. Han was both intrigued by their exchange and relieved that the time the three of them had spent together in that relatively small cockpit had been so oddly civilized.

It had really only been a few hours. As soon as Luke had narrowed down Leia's presence to a planet in the Arkanis sector of the Outer Rim, they had loaded themselves and about a dozen stormtroopers into one of Darth Vader's personal ships; a small vessel equipped with a sophisticated infirmary and life support system. They boarded in silence, with only occasional clipped commands from his father-in-law directed at his troopers to 'remain in the hull of his ship' and to Han to 'keep quiet' until they reached their destination; a destination which was still unknown to all aboard.

And now, as they approached the edges of the galaxy, Luke and Vader grew quieter, if that was even possible, Han thought. He could have sworn the air gained thickness as both men seemed to draw oxygen and energy to focus on locating Leia.

Vader sighed with frustration and turned to Luke. Han could see angry clouds gathering behind the older man's eyes, and figured he had not been able to feel out his daughter. When he spoke, though, his tone was surprisingly gentle.

"Luke?"

Instinctively, Luke took over the controls, letting the force-charged link with his twin lead him toward her. He continued to pilot the ship as Han and Vader kept a close eye on the space map. They had left the Corellian Run and were now flying straight through the Arkanis sector. Han's heart began to beat faster.

"Mining colonies," Han said softly. He didn't like this area of space. It was a notorious route for mercenaries and, as he well knew, pirates. There was no law out here.

"Would she have come this way, Solo?" Vader asked, turning in his seat to watch the pirate closely. He was growing uneasy.

"The Run took her through the Arkonis sector, but none of the planets were in her flight plan or aid mission," Han said with a confused frown as they approached a planet. Siskeen. "Someone must have brought her here."

The ship started shaking as Luke struggled to gain control of the navigation system.

"Not someone," Vader said, his hands flying over the controls to help his son take control of the ship as they started to fly toward Siskeen. "Something."

"What's happening?" Han asked in a panic as the surface of the planet came rushing at them.

Neither man answered him. After a few minutes of careful death-defying maneuvering, Vader and Luke managed to navigate their way through the atmosphere, allowing the gravitational pull of the mountainous desert planet to glide them over the surface as Luke took them to where he felt Leia's presence was strongest.

"Good work, son," Vader said finally as they brought the ship to a stop. The sand and dust settled around them and in the moonlight a large base came into view before them.

"What was that?" Han asked again. He was still breathing heavily.

"Mining operation," Vader answered, switching off buttons on the control panel. "They adjust the planet's electromagnetic forces so the ore shifts closer to the surface to facilitate stripping. It also alters the gravitational field."

"Her ship got pulled in," Han figured.

"Is she in there, Luke?" Vader asked, turning his eyes to the building outside.

"That's her ship," Han said pointing to a small skiff near the settlement. It looked like it had suffered considerable damage. She had crashed.

They stood up in unison. Determination was written all over Vader's face and Han couldn't help but shiver when the man grabbed his trademark mask from the seat next to him, swiftly pulling it over his head. Though he didn't need it anymore and the ventilator was no longer attached, Han now realized it had become more than just a prop. It was effectively his war paint. He wanted there to be no doubt that it was he, Darth Vader himself, who had come to claim Princess Leia. To hand out his particularly unforgiving brand of justice.

Vader and Luke both grabbed their lightsabers and the three of them walked out of the ship. They looked around as they stepped onto the sandy surface. The stormtroopers stood silent behind them.

"Luke, can you feel her?"

"Yes," Luke said, his face twisting in pain. "She's hurt."

The plan was rather simple. They would storm the base. Han would take a group of stormtroopers with him, essentially creating a distraction. In the commotion, Luke and Vader would be free to search for Leia, and take out any further threat. Han didn't love the plan. It left him out of the rescue and he imagined many a scenario in which he would either not come out alive, or come out to find out they'd left without him. What was stopping them from leaving without him? They were probably hoping he would get killed. Then he realized it didn't really matter as long as they got Leia out and she was alive and safe. Besides, he was hardly in a position to object and he didn't want to waste precious time arguing.

"Listen," Han said, turning to Luke and Vader while the stormtroopers waited for him, "whatever happens in there…please make sure Leia's safe."

Luke regarded Han closely. He wanted to say something to the man, but wasn't sure what. They had no idea what to expect once they went in. There was always the possibility that they could resolve all this without the need for violence. But sadly, Luke thought that to be unlikely. Whatever had happened after Leia 'landed' on the planet, had not been pleasant.

"We're wasting time," Vader said bluntly.

"Go, Han," Luke said sympathetically, giving the man a small smile. "We'll find her."

Somewhat encouraged, Han motioned for the troopers to follow him into the compound. Luke and Vader stayed behind, wondering if they had been spotted as they flew in. Luke hoped that the rescue would take no more that some persuasive negotiation, but within minutes of Han walking into the building, the sound of blasters tore through the cold desert air. He turned to his father, but he had already begun marching toward the gates, his quick strides signaling fearsome determination.

Luke ran to catch up with his father and using the force, together they opened the back gate. They walked into a wide darkened hallway and sensing footsteps approaching, Vader pulled out his lightsaber and activated it, casting an eerie red glow on the deserted corridor. Luke concentrated on locating his sister while Vader prepared to eliminate anyone in their path.

_Han_

Luke stopped when he heard his sister call out. Her presence was faint. She was drifting away.

"Luke?" Vader asked turning around to face his son. He had sensed his son's alarm.

"I can hear her," Luke said. "She's near."

Vader concentrated also, trying to find his daughter through the force.

_Han_

It was a faint plea, a cry filled with despair and pain. They both heard it and with no more than a shared look they started towards the source.

Luke was feeling confident as Leia's presence was getting stronger. They were close now. He motioned his father to follow him down a corridor, but as they turned two men with blasters came rushing toward them. Vader tore through them with one clean stroke of his saber, using the force to toss their bodies aside. Before they could continue in their search, however, they heard the sounds of more footsteps approaching behind them.

Vader turned to Luke.

"Luke, find Leia, I will dispose of them," Vader said, walking towards the sound of the nearing mass, lightsaber raised in his hand.

Luke wasted no time. His father could easily handle them, but he felt Leia didn't have much time left. He opened the door and was nearly crushed by the absolute wave of terror and pain that washed over him as his sister's feelings hit him unfiltered through the force. He quickly blocked her, knowing it would not help her if he could not focus clearly.

She was being carried by two men and when they saw him storm into the room they quickly released her and took a step away from him. She slumped to the ground limply and Luke saw red. He didn't give the men a chance to speak. Raising the lightsaber over his head, he quickly brought it down to slice through the neck on the man closest to him, then swung around and drove it into the other man's chest.

As the body hit the ground, he rushed to Leia and knelt beside her fallen form. She lay with her face turned away from him, but he could see dried blood and dirt all over her white shirt. Her hair had come undone and was matted with what he could assume was more of her blood. Her arm was bent at a very odd angle, and one of her ankles was swollen and an unnatural shade of purple. He slowly and carefully turned her to face him.

"Leia?" Luke called to her softly.

"Han?" She replied hoarsely, trying to open her eyes.

Luke ignored the flash of frustration and jealousy that hit him and instead gently pushed her hair away from her face, gasping in shock as he took her appearance in. Her beautiful face was marred with bruises, one of her eyes completely swollen shut as she turned her gaze towards him.

"It's me, Leia," he said. "Luke."

She smiled slightly, raising a hand to his face. "Luke?"

"Yes. I'm here to rescue you," he said repeating the first words he'd ever spoken to her on the first Death Star.

She chuckled slightly at his words, but her laughter soon turned to a wet gargling cough. She clutched at her chest and grimaced in pain. He turned her slightly to lie on her back.

"It's OK, Leia, let me have a look," he moved her shirt slightly to the side and saw her entire right side of her torso was bruised. He felt around her ribs tentatively, flinching when she gasped in pain. "You have a few broken ribs."

"I know," she said softly as she tried to get up but fell on the floor again.

"Leia, let me carry you," Luke said taking off his cloak and putting it over her, wrapping it tightly before he picked her up and carried her out of the room. He stopped abruptly when he heard her moan in pain. "Leia?"

She tried to say something but all she managed were a few short gasps followed by a strangled sound. When she coughed again, blood trickled from the side of her mouth.

"Can't…breathe," she sputtered out.

Fear gripped Luke's heart as he realized one of her broken ribs likely punctured her lung. He stepped out of the room and started in the direction he'd last left his father, glancing towards Leia occasionally as she struggled to breathe.

"Han?" Leia said softly.

"He's here too, Leia," he said quickly, wanting to give her hope.

Leia's eyes sparkled as she looked up at Luke. He was amazed that in spite of the situation and her pain a look of pure bliss crossed her face.

"Han," she whispered happily, like the mere utterance of his name could heal her.

He came to find his father at the end of the corridor, bodies were scattered around his feet as he turned to watch Luke run towards him with Leia in his arms. Vader deactivated his lightsaber and strode up to meet Luke, pausing to look down at Leia's semiconscious body. His fists clenched as he took in her appearance and even through the mask Luke could hear his harsh breathing. At that moment, Luke was glad he could not see his father's eyes. The lights flickered and the walls around them started to shake. Luke allowed his father a few seconds to vent his anger before finally speaking.

"We must leave, now," he said urgently. "She's badly injured."

Vader reigned in his rage and nodded before quickly turning towards the nearest exit. They reached their ship and found the landing area empty.

"Han?" Leia asked, lifting her head slightly from Luke's arm. "Where's Han?"

Luke hesitated as he looked down at his sister's pleading eyes.

"Luke, we must leave now!" Vader said stepping up to the ramp leading into the ship.

Luke went to follow his father, when Leia started struggling against him. "Han!" She screamed, before again having a fit of coughs. They didn't stop her from trying to escape Luke's hold.

"I have to get Han," Luke said looking up at his father. Leia's struggles stopped when she heard him.

"We don't have time, Luke," he said sternly.

"Taker her, I'll go back," Luke said, holding Leia out to Vader.

Leia turned slowly to Vader, not recognizing him in the dark. All she could see were a pair of arms, ready to take her from Luke.

"Be careful, son," Vader said.

Leia's body immediately tensed as the cold realization hit her. The man was Darth Vader. She turned to her brother, clutching at him desperately with her uninjured hand.

"No!" She screamed between gasps. "No!"

"Please Leia, don't be afraid," Luke pleaded with her.

She struggled and Luke lost hold of her legs causing her feet to drop to the floor. She tried breaking free but screamed in pain when she put her weight on her ankle. She saw the ground coming up quickly to meet her head. Her face stopped mere inches from the ground and she felt two strong arms holding her up from behind and lifting her.

"We must leave now, Luke."

She had thought it was Luke holding her up, but the voice had belonged to whoever was now holding her; her father. She renewed her struggles.

"Let me go," she screamed, as pain shot through every inch of her body. "Han!"

"I will not hurt you, Leia! You must stop fighting me," Vader said, halfway between pleading and frustration.

It only made her struggle harder when she realized he was taking her into his ship and she might never see her husband or brother again. A sharp pain ran through her chest and her throat began to fill again. The fluid reached her mouth and she tasted copper and salt. Blood, she realized.

Vader looked down at his daughter as blood started began to slowly seep from her mouth. He could heal her, but not if they didn't leave soon. For the first time in years he felt fear licking at his heart. His daughter might die.

"There's no time for this, Luke." His tone left no room for argument.

"She already hates us," Luke said sadly. "Please, don't give her another reason."

Vader looked at his son and sighed. Leia suddenly stopped moving and her body went limp in her father's arms.

"Get the pirate!" Vader said urgently, turning and heading into the ship with Leia.

Leia was vaguely aware that she was being carried. She felt herself being lowered gently down onto a flat surface. She looked around but her eyesight was hazy and unfocused. There was a dark figure above her but she couldn't make out who it was. She could only see an outline. A silhouette. She tried to move, but her body wouldn't respond. All she could do was wait.

Vader was focused on his main objective: saving Leia. He laid her on the medical bed, removed his mask and prepared the life-support equipment. He was confident his son could get the pirate out, but at that very moment he needed his whole mind on Leia. He gave her a fast-acting sedative to prevent her from moving and struggling, but she hadn't even seemed to notice. He could feel her eyes on him though, watching him closely and warily. He could feel her apprehension through the force. She didn't trust him.

He walked over to Leia and his hands went to the collar of her robe, Luke's robe, and gently pulled it off her. Her fear spiked and she started trembling slightly. Vader looked down at her and grabbed her good arm, pulling up the sleeve of her shirt. He reached behind him and grabbed a syringe. She saw it and her terror interrupted his concentration. He frowned and made a mental note to teach her how to shield her emotions.

Vader finally looked into her eyes and took a moment to speak carefully to his child.

"Leia, you've lost a lot of blood, I need to give you an infusion," he said calmly, trying to soothe her through the Force. "I will not hurt you."

He felt her relax, but only slightly. He inserted the needle into the vein in her arm. He turned back to her when Leia made a noise. He leaned closer to her to hear what she was trying to say.

"Can't…breathe…" she gasped.

He placed his hands over her chest and closed his eyes. She'd broken a couple of ribs and one of them had punctured her left lung. She would need to be ventilated until he could heal her properly.

"Leia, you have a punctured lung, I will need to ventilate you," he said quickly grabbing a tube from a bench nearby. "Do you understand?"

Leia couldn't gather up any more air to speak, she couldn't even nod her head. She concentrated on sending her thoughts through, unsure of how to do it. She'd never opened up a connection with her father before. She had never wanted to.

Vader felt Leia trying to communicate with him through the force and he allowed the link to form through the force, amazed she managed to do this with so little training and in her condition. On a deeper level, he felt joy that she was reaching out to him, despite the circumstance.

_I understand_

"Try to stay calm."

_Where's Han? I need Han._

Vader concentrated on remaining impassive, lest she be able to detect his displeasure.

"Luke will bring him back," he said watching her closely. She was fading; he could feel her slowly ebbing away. His voice took on a more frenzied edge. "Leia, you must stay awake."

She watched him for a moment, a moment that seemed to him to last hours but in reality lasted only seconds. It wasn't a standoff, he realized. She had a curious expression on her face, almost like she was trying to take him in, to understand his presence there. Her thoughts reached him clearly and dread filled his veins. She thought she was going to die and his face would be the last thing she would see. She was letting go.

"You're not going to die, Leia," he said as gently as he could, and to his surprise she smiled slightly. She was humoring him.

Then her eyes closed and her world went black.

_Leia! _

_Leia!_

He called to her through the force but was met with complete silence.

Vader stood there watching as his daughter died in front of his eyes. He tried looking for her through the force, but her presence was dim and fading with each second. He shook himself from his trance and sprung into action. He would not watch his child die like this.

He quickly intubated and started the mechanical ventilator. For a moment he watched the hissing machine blankly. He found the sound unnerving, a sobering reminder of what he used to be. Or was he still that same being? He couldn't tell anymore.

He kneeled by the bed and rested his right hand on her chest, just above her heart. He could hear a faint heartbeat. He placed his other hand gently on her forehead and closed his eyes. He bent his head and connected with the force, allowing it to flow from him to her, trying now not to heal her, but to keep her alive.

At that moment, Luke dragged Han into the cockpit. The pirate was barely able to stand, but was faring much better than his wife. They looked at Vader and Leia.

"What the hell are you doing to her?" He yelled at Vader.

Vader ignored him, a slight movement of his head was the only evidence he had acknowledged his presence.

_Luke, keep him away_

Luke grabbed at Han, who was now trying to make his way to his wife and Vader.

"Get away from her!"He screamed, struggling in vain against Luke. "Leia!"

_Luke, please!_

Luke had never heard his father say please. But that wasn't what took him by surprise. It was the feelings that had traveled with that single word. Panic, anguish, sorrow. Luke waved a hand in front of Han and the pirate fell to the floor in a heap. He continued to watch his father as he stood over Leia. He didn't dare move from his spot.

"Father?" He asked tentatively.

_We must leave now, Luke_

Luke tried to feel for his sister, but he couldn't feel her presence. Now he also felt panic.

"Is she…" He couldn't find the words to finish that question.

_I cannot heal her, Luke, and I don't know how much longer I can keep her alive. _

Luke didn't need to hear anymore. He jumped on the pilot seat and started the ship.

* * *

In the next installment, Leia wakes (I'm not going to let her die!) and we find out what happened. Please, pretty please, review!


	7. Waiting

Hi guys,

Wow, is my face red! There is no good excuse why I took so long to update.

One reason is that while I was working on the final chapter, I changed my mind about where I wanted the story to go, which meant I had to go back to this chapter and change more stuff. Then I got stuck, which made me frustrated, which made me lose focus. Anyhoo, I'm almost done now. Just putting some finishing touches in the next chapter - there's only about 3 to go.

OK, here's the new chappie…

* * *

**Bast Castle, Vjun**

Almost nine hours after Leia was rushed into Vader's infirmary, in a harried yet strategically choreographed flurry of motion, Han found himself sitting idly in the small room adjacent to the surgical suite. He also found he had very little to do other than worry excessively over his wife's condition. At least, he thought wryly as he chanced a glance towards Luke and Vader, he apparently wasn't the only one. Both his father-in-law and brother-in-law wore similar expressions of concern. Occasionally, Luke would look his way. Fear, worry and sympathy clearly etched on his young handsome face. Han found himself somewhat grateful for that small measure of support.

Vader, on the other hand, didn't seem to even notice Han was in the same room and in fact, hadn't even acknowledged his son-in-law since waking up from his Force-induced nap. Though Vader hadn't uttered a word, neither to him nor Luke, Han was no so daft as to not have noticed the shared glances between father and son and concluded that they were communicating through the Force. Han felt excluded and annoyed, yet from the desolate expression on Luke's face and Vader's faraway eyes, he wondered if it was better that he not know.

Han hadn't moved from his seat since waking up in Vader's private fortress, save for a brief moment to contact Chewie to let him know what had happened. The Wookie had stared at Han harshly through the HoloNet screen and Han knew that it was only concern for Leia that prevented Chewie from flying off in a rage over his best friend being caught within the enemy's grasp. Chewie had been opposed to asking Vader and Luke for help locating Leia all along and it was all Han could do to assure Chewie he was not in any immediate danger, though if Han were perfectly honest with himself, he wasn't sure that was actually true. At least Chewie hadn't pushed the issue, only making Han promise to keep him and their friends in New Alderaan updated.

All Han had been told by Luke was that Leia was alive, though in a very serious condition, and currently being treated by three of Vader's best medical droids. Han eyed the two men warily. He wasn't sure whether he should trust them or not. True, Luke had healed him during their flight back and he hadn't been thrown into a cell as soon as they landed, which he'd half expected. He also couldn't deny that they were certainly doing everything possible to save Leia. If it hadn't been for them she would have likely died, but he couldn't help wonder what he'd gotten himself and Leia into if she pulled through. What would happen then? Should he be afraid of Luke and Vader, or Leia's reaction when she found out he went to her father and brother for help? Probably both, Han figured.

Han looked over at Luke, who stood a few feet away from him. The young Jedi was watching the door to the surgical room where Leia was being treated with trance-like concentration, as if he could make her miraculously appear fully-healed just by the mere power of thought and will. But it seemed no amount of Force could make that happen. Luke had told Han when he woke that Vader had barely been able to keep Leia alive through their trip back to Vjjun. His young face was now tight with worry and the skin around his eyes seemed dark and sunken. Han wondered if through his link with Leia, Luke could feel any of what she was feeling or if all he could sense was a vast emptiness where his wife's presence should be. He was too afraid to ask Luke that question.

Vader's own face was impassive, giving away nothing of what he was, or might be, feeling. It was exactly what Han would have expected, had it not been for the fact that the supposedly former Sith was slowly, yet purposely, pacing across the room. His gloved hands were laced together at his back as he took wide, measured steps within the limited space of the waiting room. It reminded Han of a caged animal biding his time while he figured out his next move.

Unable to take the relentless pacing cutting through the uncomfortable silence any longer, Han barked out in a sudden burst of frustration, "Do you mind?"

Startled and stunned at the outburst, Vader stopped mid-step and turned cold blue eyes to Han, "Excuse me?"

"The pacing!" Han pointed out, "Do you mind?"

"It bothers you?" Vader's tone comprised equal parts amusement and annoyance.

A small part of Han, way back in the recess of his still-functioning brain currently overshadowed by worry over his wife, was telling him to shut the hell up. But his nerves were on edge and at that moment his irate father-in-law seemed deceptively harmless to him. How could he possibly cause him any more anguish that what he was already feeling?

He silenced the little part of him that still held a lingering grip on self-preservation and did his best to match Vader's glare. "Yes, it bothers me. Think you could stop?"

"General Solo, your continuous existence in this universe bothers me," Vader said calmly. He walked slowly towards an apprehensive Han and stood in front of him, staring down at the young man. Vader found that he was surprisingly not all that offended at the pirate's little tantrum. "Perhaps instead of pacing I could do something about that."

Han let out a long breath and told himself to calm down. He knew he was overreacting. Both his and Vader's patience were obviously hanging by a very taut and delicate thread. Maybe pacing was Vader's way of dealing with what was happening with Leia. Maybe Vader's method of worrying included constant movement. In any case, Han felt unable to begrudge the man his method, however irritating, of making time pass.

"I'm sorry, I'm just on edge." Han said leaning over in his chair. He rested his elbows on his knees and cradled his head in his hands. He waved one hand dismissively and muttered, "Pace away."

Han heard Vader's footsteps as he walked away and mentally prepared himself for another three hours of heavy boots rhythmically treading across the floor of the small sitting room. But instead, the pacing stopped and the room fell completely silent. Han frowned and ventured a glance up. Darth Vader was sitting on a chair on the other side of the room, across from Han. He was watching Han with narrowed eyes and an expression Han could only describe as slightly amused. Slightly.

"Thank you," Han said softly.

Vader snorted, "At least my daughter has taught you some manners."

Han struggled not to smirk at the uncharacteristically human trait. He never thought he'd live to see the day where he and Vader would trade insults. He could clearly see where Leia got her volatile personality and wry sense of humor. Unfortunately, the mention of Leia brought him back to reality and the lump in his throat returned.

"She's taught me a lot of things," Han said solemnly.

By the time one of the medical droids finally emerged from the surgical room, greatly frayed nerves had left the three men sullen and restrained. Brought out of their anxious stupors, they stood and converged on the droid as its red glowing eyes scanned them for recognition. The droid only seemed to acknowledge Vader and settled its red glowing mechanical eyes on the large man, focusing its attention completely on him.

It was, of course, impossible to read the droid's expression, making Han's dread spike a few notches.

"Lord Vader, the surgery was successful. Princess Leia has been stabilized."

The droid had spoken in the formal and impassive tone in which Han guessed all droids were programmed to speak and, in a fleeting moment of horrifying realization, he found he suddenly missed Threepio. At least that annoying pile of bolts had a personality. Granted, not one he particularly liked, but a personality nonetheless.

"She'll be alright?" Han asked hopeful.

"We have just taken her off the ventilator. I expect a complete recovery."

Han didn't need to tap into the Force to sense the wave of relief that washed over everyone in the room. His own relief was so immense he had the sudden urge to laugh hysterically and embrace both his brother-in-law and father-in-law. Wisely, he managed to keep both urges in check.

"Is she awake?" Han asked.

"Not yet. I recommend she remain in stasis for at least another forty-eight hours. I would like to keep monitoring her, just to be safe. " The droid spoke in clipped sentences, still addressing Vader. "But if you wish, my Lord, I can bring her out now."

"No," Vader said quickly, "keep her in stasis, I'll...we'll wait."

"Thank Heavens!" Han said with a smile. He placed his hand on the droid's shoulder, a gesture of appreciation and gratitude that was completely lost on it. He turned to Vader, "Thank you."

"Unfortunately, Lord Vader, her injuries were too severe and the child was lost."

Han's relief was short-lived and he felt an icy hand grasp itself around his heart as the smile on his face vanished. He sprung back from the droid as if burnt by that single shattering statement. Through the misty fog that began to cloud his eyes he vaguely saw Vader slowly turn to him. The former Sith and Jedi was nothing more than a large, black, shapeless form in his periphery.

Vader was the first to offer a response to the droid's announcement. When he finally spoke his voice came out no louder than a whisper, "Child?" The question hung heavily in the stark room, solid and thick.

Han's face contorted in pain. "Leia was pregnant?" He asked the droid quietly.

"Yes. I estimate eight week's human gestation. May I return to her?"

"Go," Vader said, dismissing the droid with a faint wave of his hand.

The droid left as unceremoniously as it had arrived leaving the three men in no better state than when it had walked in.

"She was pregnant," Han stated quietly, still staring at the empty space the droid had left.

No longer able to contain his grief, Han fell to his knees, covering his face with his hands in a vain attempt to contain a sob. He couldn't believe he'd just lost his child. They had been trying to start a family for the last year. Leia had wanted a child so badly, hoping every month that they'd be able to conceive. Han remembered joking with her that whether she got pregnant or not he would definitely not complain about their relentless efforts. Secretly, of course, he had wanted a child as much as Leia. In her last transmission to him she'd said she was on her way home with great news. He'd thought it was something to do with trade negotiations in Ator, or the new peace treaty with Empress Teeda. News she hadn't wanted to share even through their supposedly secure HoloFrequency. Now he realized the news were of a personal nature. She had cut short the aid mission by two weeks to tell him, in person, they were going to be parents.

He groaned in anguish as he remembered telling her to take Lando back with her, begged her to not fly on her own. She'd laughed off his concern and he'd been so excited at the prospect of seeing her sooner than planned that he'd abandoned all protests. Chewie! He should have sent Chewie with her in the first place. The Wookie would never have let her fly on her own. Why hadn't he pushed her? Never mind the shock and anger Han knew Leia would feel at waking up in Vader's castle. Han knew Leia would be crushed when she came to and realized their child had not survived. His heart would break again when it happened.

Vader looked at the broken man below him wanting nothing more than for his anger to overpower all other emotions. Surprisingly, he found that pity for Han and sorrow for his daughter overcame all. His daughter had been pregnant. He would have been a grandfather. Like so much else in his life it had been taken from him in a cruel and brutal twist of fate. Worse still, he knew all too well that the revenge and violence he had unleashed on all those responsible was only fleetingly satisfying. Ultimately, he was powerless to change the past. It was a harsh lesson he had been forced to learn many times in his life, most at the expense of those he loved.

"I'm sorry, Han." He said before realizing his choice of words.

Han looked up at Vader, his tear-streaked face showing surprise at Vader calling him by his first name for the first time since they had met. "She'd wanted a child for a very long time," he said softly. He closed his eyes and turned away before he could break down again, "she'll be devastated."

"She'll pull through," Luke spoke up finally, walking over to Han and kneeling next to him, his own blue eyes tearing up. "She's strong, Han. We'll help her get through. Both of you."

He placed a strong hand on Han's shoulder, squeezing tightly in brotherly support. It was at that moment that Han realized he hadn't lost Luke. In fact, at that moment, Han was even finally convinced that Vader had truly changed, that Luke was succeeding in helping his father-in-law overcome the monster he had once been. Perhaps the fight was not yet over between Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader, and maybe it would never be completely, but he was certain of two things; Vader was no monster and Luke was still his friend. Now if he could only get Leia to see that too maybe some good could come out of the whole mess.

* * *

Probably not worth such a long wait but I'm certainly excited about the next one…Leia will be back! Yay!


	8. Awake

Once again, I'm so so sorry this is taking so long. Enjoy (to those still reading).

I'm writing the last chapter at the moment. The ones leading up to it (three, not including this one) are already written, but I don't want to post until i'm done with the last one - in case I need to change something. So, it's that last chapter that's holding everything up.

Toodles for now,

Andrea

* * *

**Bast Castle, Vjun**

Vader stopped in front of the door to Han's room. His mechanical arm froze midair and for a moment he did nothing but stare at it in confusion. Was he really just about to knock on Solo's door? Why hadn't he sent Luke, or a droid, to fetch him? Why didn't he just barge in, like he really wanted to. It was, after all, his property. Vader was trying so hard to dislike the man, but try as he might he found the more he got to know the pirate, the more he actually began to like him.

In many ways, Han reminded Vader of himself when he was younger. Before he'd lost all touch with his humanity. In a moment of horrifying self-revelation Vader realized Han was the kind of man he wished he had become. The kind of man he _would_ have become…if it hadn't been for Obi Wan, the Emperor, the damn Jedi. He took a deep breath, still relishing the feel of the air invading his lungs without the aid of his breathing mask. He shook his head, trying to free his mind from the dangerous and dark thoughts beginning to swirl within. Would he ever be able to stop blaming others for his fall? Would he ever be able to accept equal blame and eventually forgive himself? Not if Leia didn't. Not if she stood forever as a constant reminder that he was nothing more than a monster that could never be redeemed. If she, Padme's own flesh, couldn't, how could_ he_? He'd done very little other than ask himself that question in the two days after arriving in Vjun. Whatever the answer, he would find out soon. Leia was ready to come out of stasis. In mere moments, she would be awake. It was time. He knocked on Han's door.

Han opened the door and faltered as he faced his father-in-law. He'd only crossed paths with Vader a handful of times since Leia had pulled through surgery and he had assumed it would be Luke coming to fetch him once she was ready to safely come out of stasis. He quickly recovered and watched Vader expectantly, allowing a smirk to pull at the corners of his mouth. Lord Vader, scourge of the Galaxy, super villain extraordinaire, was nervous.

"It's time," was all Vader said.

Only the night before had Han actually realized that the room he'd been given was next to Luke's own and just down the long sterile hallway from Vader's own living quarters. He had expected to be thrown in a detention cell or, at best, a servant's room.

Vader led Han down to Leia's room in the medical bay in silence as he contemplated recent events. Despite the circumstances, the last two days had not been as trying as he knew they might have potentially been. Sure, he held no deep affection for the Corellian pirate who had married his daughter but, to his credit, Solo had done his best to stay out of his way and behave accordingly. With an unexpected twinge of compassion, Vader figured the man had been rendered compliant by Leia's condition and the loss of his unborn child. The young man had lost much of that insolent fire and bravado that Vader had found so insufferable at every encounter they'd had in the past. For some reason, that loss now made Vader uncomfortable. He could sense Han's excitement and trepidation through the Force and with some irritation realized that it matched his own feelings. He was excited to see his daughter again, after so long. He dreaded her reaction. Mostly, he dreaded her reaction to finding herself in his presence. This was a precarious situation, he reasoned. An opportunity like this, to reunite with both his children, might not present itself again. He had to play this carefully, he told himself.

Luke was already in the room with Leia, waiting for his father to return with Han. The three men regarded each other in silence for a moment before walking over to Leia's bedside. Han took a seat next to her bed and reached out for her hand, wrapping it tightly in both of his, wanting her to know he was there the second she regained consciousness. He very much wanted to tell Luke and Vader to leave. Luke stood on the other side and taking a cue from Han, placed his own hand over hers. He tried searching for her through the Force, but found his attempt thwarted.

"No, son," Vader said standing next to him, "let her come out on her own."

Though he felt a twinge of irritation, Luke nodded and pulled his hand away. His father was right; Han should be the first person she should see. And she should find her own way to them.

Unsure of what her reaction to his presence would be and not wanting to cause her further upset, Vader took a few steps back from the bed as soon as Leia's eyes began to flutter.

Leia slowly opened her eyes as her mind scrambled for consciousness. She blinked languidly a few times, her vision still unclear and hazy from the drugs working their way out of her body. Her immediate thought was that she didn't recognize where she was, but somehow knew it was a safe place. As always, her first thought was Han.

"Han?" Her voice was hoarse and she swallowed against the pain in her throat.

"I'm here, love." Han said. He squeezed her hand and stood, leaning over her so she could easily see him.

Leia turned her head to the sound of her husband's voice. Her eyes focused on his face, taking in all his features. She sighed and smiled faintly. He was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

"Han." She said again, reaching out with her free hand towards him tentatively as if he might be a figment of her imagination.

Han let her trace his features with her fingers, finally turning his head so he could kiss her palm.

"You came for me," she smiled lovingly at her husband and sighed contentedly, "I knew you would."

"_We_ came for you." Han corrected her as he looked across the bed at Luke.

Leia turned her head slowly and smiled even brighter when her eyes rested on the face of her twin brother. Any apprehension Luke had felt at her reaction to his presence was suddenly vanquished by the look of happiness on his sister's face.

"Luke!" She breathed out, weakly reaching out to him with her hand. Luke grabbed it gently and bent down to kiss it.

"Oh, Leia," He said softly, stroking her hair soothingly, "I'm so glad you're alright."

"My knights in shining armor," she said with a husky chuckle. "Who else would come to my rescue?"

"Actually," Han started slowly and turned his gaze to Vader, "there was someone else."

Leia's eyes followed Han's gaze until they came to rest at her father's and her smile disappeared. A look of confusion washed over her face. Vader made no move towards her nor uttered a word. He waited patiently by the foot of her bed for her to accept the situation. She turned back to Han with a questioning look.

"Your father saved you and healed you," Han said with a soft smile Leia knew belonged only to her, "I just tagged along."

She slowly digested the information her husband had given her. For the first time in a very long time, she didn't really know what to do with it, or how to feel about it, but she knew what she should say. She slowly turned to Vader again she stared at him for a moment before speaking.

"Thank you," she said sincerely. No fear, no anger. Not yet anyway. "Thank you."

"You need not thank me, my child." He said simply, wanting to say so much more but unable to put so much unsaid into words. Now was not the time. He would make sure they spoke privately soon. Right now, he wanted her to know he had rescued her.

She closed her eyes against the weight of the new feelings that were beginning to settle on her already fragile psyche. It all felt all too surreal.

"It's my fault," she kept her eyes shut tightly, unable to face her husband. "Lando told me to wait."

"Leia, don't- "

"I knew it wasn't safe to fly through that sector alone," she continued as if Han hadn't interjected. "I should have waited instead of flying on my own."

"Leia, don't you dare blame yourself for this." Han's demand came out harsher than he had intended. But he could and would not watch his wife take down the road of self-blame. "Please."

It seemed to have worked, somehow. Leia watched her husband through teary eyes, wanting him to understand how a simple surge of impulsivity had turned her life inside out. _Their_ life. "I was just so excited…I wanted to tell you, in person."

"That you were pregnant?" He asked quietly.

Leia pursed her lips to stop herself from crying and stared at Han, looking like a terrified child. "I can't feel it anymore." She whispered out, her voice breaking with the last word.

Han stared back at her. She was searching his face, his eyes, for an answer but Han found he couldn't speak. He couldn't be the one to tell her. His heart hurt too much already. All he could manage was a squeeze of her hand.

It wasn't enough for her. She had to hear it. "Han?" she insisted.

She turned to Luke only to find his head bowed down and his eyes closed. She wanted to scream at them, anger now simmering to the surface. The two bravest men she'd ever met and they were too scared to face her now. Her lips started trembling and tears blurred her vision further as she finally sought the answer from her father. The one man she truly believed would not hide from her just to spare her feelings. His feelings, perhaps. But not hers.

He didn't disappoint.

"I'm sorry, Leia," Vader said as gently as he could humanly manage, "the child did not survive."

She nodded. He'd only confirmed what she already knew. The tears fell freely now. The pain was so great, the grief so deep and sharp.

Han's voice broke through her haze. "What did they do to you, Leia?" She held out her arms to him like a child seeking comfort. He engulfed her small frame in his arms as she cried in his arms. "Leia?" He pleaded again.

She shook her head against him, "Nothing." Though her voice was muffled voice through Han's shirt, they all heard her. Han turned to Luke and Vader, the confusion on his faced mirrored in theirs, "they didn't' do anything."

* * *

Please review...if you're still reading, that is.


	9. Unforgiven

AN- Thank you all so much for the reviews. It's almost done. Just two more chapters to go. This one was particularly difficult to write, and you'll see why soon enough, but I'm just relieved that it did end up where I wanted it to...you know how sometimes you start writing and the story just goes off in a different direction? Not this time!

Anyhoo, enjoy this chapter - it's quite long and super-angsty. Please leave a review to let me know if you're liking it so far.

Toodles,

Andrea

* * *

**Bast Castle, Vjun**

Considering her action-packed life so far, the story of how she came to crash in a far away planet seemed rather dull by comparison. Disappointingly so.

She had sobbed in between gasping for air and recounting the sequence of events that eventually led up to, as they had suspected, a crash landing. She had been in a hurry to return home and plotted a route that would take her close to the planets in the Arkanis system in the hopes of using their orbital trajectories as a propulsive slingshot to increase the speed of her ship. She entered an uncharted region within the sector and her ship was pulled in by the gravitational field of its largest planet, Siskeen. Her calculations hadn't accurately accounted for the altered magnetic force and by the time she realized what was happening, it was too late. The emergency thrusters and gravity flux compensators could only stop her ship from disintegrating upon impact. She had crashed all the same.

She shook her head and wiped the last of the tears running down her cheeks with the back of her hand. "I crashed. Next thing I know I'm in a cell with all these men. They were arguing over what to do with me."

"Then what happened?"

Leia turned to her brother. Her eyes had travelled between Luke and Han while she recounted her story. She hadn't been able to make herself look at Vader the entire time and he, perhaps sensing her discomfort, had remained entirely silent throughout.

"When they figured out who I was, they panicked," she said, finally venturing a glance towards Vader but still not directly addressing him. "They were afraid he'd be coming for me. I'm not sure what they planned to do, but at one point two of the men came and took me. They told me they were going to take me to the a medic in a nearby colony." She noticed that both Han and Luke looked away from her. "They saved my life."

The silence that followed was telling. Not only telling, but pregnant with meaning. Only Vader was able to meet her gaze, unwaveringly. "They're all dead," he said by way of explanation. His voice held no emotion.

She wanted to prod further. She wanted to find out more. More than that, though, she wanted to speak to Han alone. Vader and Luke seemed to grasp her wish. Not without some hesitation they left her alone with her husband.

Unsure as to how to pick up the thread of her train of thought, she eyed Han uncertainly. "Do you hate me?" she asked him when they were finally alone.

Han stared at her blankly, for a moment unsure he'd heard her right. A long moment, actually, one that dragged on as he closed his eyes and reached out for her hand and traced languid circles with his thumbs across her soft skin. When he opened them again he didn't meet her gaze, but brought her hand to his lips and placed a kiss on her so gentle it was almost reverent. He gave her hand a loving squeeze before setting it back by her side and answering her, his tone much harsher than his tender gesture. "Don't ever ask me that again, Leia."

She was quiet for a moment while she thought about how to ask the next question and bracing herself to what the answer might be.

"Why are we here?" She asked finally.

Han took a deep breath and told her the events of the previous few days, watching her expression carefully for any and every reaction. He told her how he couldn't find her and initially thought her brother, or more likely, her father had taken her. He told her how he went to them to confront them and then ask them for their help. Finally, he told her about the deal he made with Vader.

Her brown eyes widened in disbelief. "You what?"

His voice held nothing but despair. "Leia, I didn't know what else to do."

She closed her eyes, trying desperately to put herself in Han's place. The anger she'd initially felt towards her husband for bartering with her life was immediately redirected at her father for putting Han in that position, taking advantage of his concern for her and generally using the whole situation as a way to win her over.

"He really wants to see you," Han said gently. "You should talk to him, Leia."

She pulled her hand from his grasp sharply. "I don't want to talk to him. I don't want to see him. I don't even want to be in the same room as him." She said angrily.

"He saved your life," he said seriously. "You should at least talk to him. He's actually been pretty civil to me. He could have killed me, you know."

That comment did not have the soothing effect he thought it might. Instead he was met with her traditional brand of sarcasm. "Yes, because that would have helped forge a bond between us."

Han smirked teasingly at her. "I'm not sure if it's me rubbing off on you or if you inherited that sarcasm from your father."

She looked at him, her eyes narrowing to a familiar glare Han had come to identify as his cue to leave and give his wife some space. In what he wasn't sure was a brilliant move on his part, Han took the liberty to forewarn his father-in-law of his wife's current disposition and suggested he let her cool down for a little longer before attempting any sort of dialogue. Vader reluctantly agreed. As much as he wanted to speak to Leia, he conceded that perhaps a little patience wouldn't go astray.

It took one week for Vader's patience to give out before deciding he had given her long enough. He was her father, he'd saved her life and she was under his roof. He reasoned, as he strode purposely towards the medical ward, that he'd earned the right to an amicable conversation. His rather dramatic display, however, was unceremoniously cut short by the medical droid that he himself had placed outside her door.

"What do you mean she refuses to see me?" He asked with all the indignation he could muster.

"Princess Leia Organa has requested no visitors be allowed to see her." The droid repeated Leia's command, unfazed by Vader's deepening scowl.

_Skywalker,_ Vader wanted to shout at the droid, _her name is Leia Skywalker!_

Vader wanted nothing more at that moment than to tear the droid apart, but the logical part of him told him the droid meant no insolence and was only repeating Leia's request. He deliberated about barging in regardless when the door opened and Luke walked out of Leia's room.

By the glowering expression on Vader's face, Luke deduced his father had just been informed of Leia's refusal to see him. Vader was not pleased in the least. "If it makes you feel any better, father, she won't see Han either," he said tentatively, hoping that being thrown into the same predicament as Han might pacify his father's temper.

Vader frowned slightly. Yes, that did make him feel better. It still didn't explain why she allowed Luke to visit her. "Why?"

"Han told her about the deal you made with him. She was…not pleased." Luke cringed as he remembered Han's retelling. "I tried to explain your reasons to her, but she won't hear it"

It had been a week since they'd brought Leia back to Vjin, and several days since she'd regained consciousness. Surprisingly, the time had allowed Vader and Han to somewhat reach an uneasy truce. It had also, however, given Leia ample time to seethe.

"I will talk to her," Vader said starting determinedly towards the door.

Luke quickly reached out to grab grabbed his father's arm. At Vader's questioning frown, he warned, "Father, it's not a good idea, she's very angry still."

"Whether it pleases her or not, I _**am**_ her father and I will not accept her refusal to acknowledge that fact any longer." At his darkening tone, Luke let go of his arm. Without another word Vader opened the door to Leia's room and walked in.

Luke stared blankly at the empty space his father had left. He wasn't sure what would unfold beyond those doors but was fairly certain that it would be nothing short of explosive. Knowing both Vader's and Leia's volatile temperaments their confrontation right now could only be dangerous, and though he was presently worried more about Leia in her weakened state, Luke had quickly come to realize that she was capable of hurting their father deeply. And she could do it with nothing more than a few stinging words and burning contempt in her eyes.

He decided to fetch Han. Whatever happened behind those doors, he would probably need back up.

Oblivious to the scene about to unfold, Leia stared out the window of her cold, sterile room. She wished they weren't in Vjun. The planet was nothing more than barren wasteland battered by acid rains and engulfed in perpetual darkness. _Of course he would choose to live in this hell_, she thought to herself, _it's like looking out into the very landscape of his soul_.

She sighed as she watched the sun try in vain to part through the noxious clouds. She really craved sunlight, and vegetation, and her friends. The lack of natural light was making her edgy and dispirited. Being confined to that single room was also starting to make her feel claustrophobic. Even though it was a large room, and certainly comfortable, she had been there almost a week already and was bored out of her mind. She couldn't remember the last time she had been so…static.

She could walk now at least, even if with a noticeable limp. The bruises on her face had faded almost completely and her shoulder, which had been dislocated, only hurt slightly when she tried to move it within her sling. A week, she thought. A whole week and still she couldn't get her thoughts and feelings in order. Initially, time alone had helped her find some focus and a chance to grieve for her unborn child. But now, all this time alone was encouraging her thoughts to travel around in circles. For some reason, the fact that Vader had saved her only added to her confusion and frustration. She told herself he'd only done it so he could get his way. He was, after all, a master manipulator. She'd always known that. This was just his latest ploy to pull her in, separate her from Han, and twist whatever family connection he felt they had into some sort of claim to the galaxy.

Then there was Luke.

She sighed sadly at the thought of her twin. She missed him so much it sometimes hurt to even think of him, which was made all the much worse by the fact that Han spoke of Luke constantly. Her husband missed his friend, and he dealt with it by talking about him, reminiscing of their time in the Alliance and their exploits as they soared through the galaxy as brothers united by a noble cause greater than themselves. She, conversely, dealt with it by pushing those memories to the back of her mind, choosing instead to reproach Luke for being so easily swayed to Vader's side.

Yet, the more she thought about it, the more it made a bizarre kind of sense. Luke had grown up hearing sensational stories about his heroic father, Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi Knight. He'd idoliszed his deceased father for almost twenty years, not knowing who he truly was. When he finally did find out, instead of being shattered by the revelation that his father was the very evil they'd been fighting, he'd chosen to not give into hatred and instead fight for the good that he so fiercely believed was still in him. Whether there was or not remained to be seen. Leia wasn't at all convinced, but her brother clearly was.

She, on the other hand, had never known who her father was. Only her mother's true identity had been revealed to her and Bail and Breha had never told her about her connection to Anakin Skywalker or Darth Vader. It was only recently that she'd discovered her mother had died in childbirth and she and Luke had been separated in a desperate effort to prevent Vader finding either one or both of them. Unfortunately there was no one alive, with the exception of Vader himself, who could shed light on the events that led to her mother's death, but she was fairly certain Vader had had a hand in it. He definitely played a part in her adopted parents' death, the destruction of her planet, her friends and everything she'd held dear. He'd literally destroyed her entire world. How could he possibly hope to win her over now, after everything he'd done? After everything he'd taken from her?

And therein lay the difference, she thought. Luke saw his father as Anakin Skywalker, the hero of his childhood and a man redeemed. She saw him as Darth Vader, the man who tore her life to pieces and very nearly destroyed her.

The sound of the door opening did nothing to raise her interest. She sighed loudly her displeasure at the interruption, thinking it was the droid again. "I'm not hungry."

The room remained in silence and she turned, wondering if the droid had even heard her. Her blood froze as she faced her father from across the room. She could feel her heart struggling to pump the icy viscous fluid through her body. He looked as impassive as always and she strove to match his stoic demeanor.

"I requested no visitors," she said in the formal tone she used when she was a senator. "I wish to be alone."

Vader studied his daughter carefully as she told him in no specific way to get out. If she thought she could talk him down she was sadly mistaken. Two could play this game. He remained silent.

"Was I not clear, Lord Vader?" She said in a slightly harsher tone, almost condescending. He watched her silently, his face still not revealing an emotion. But she knew he was getting angry. She could feel it. She could feel him gathering his rage around him. "I do not wish for company. Especially not yours."

She watched him for any sign of acknowledgement. His continued silence was making her increasingly more nervous, which in turn only made her more defensive. Finally he slammed the door shut behind him, the loud booming sound making her flinch and the room felt suddenly colder.

She steadied her breathing. She was alone in a room with him. Again. But she wasn't afraid this time, she realized. The thought both confused her and gave her strength.

"Your request was clear," he said finally, matching her cold tone. "Your wishes, however, are no longer my concern."

"Were they ever?" She asked back caustically.

With great difficulty and self-possession, he ignored her barb, knowing the conversation would be laced with many such cutting remarks. He was beginning to realize his daughter was more like him than they both knew. She may look just like her mother did, but that was pretty much all she inherited from her.

"I am in no mood for such comments, Leia."

"Then leave." She suggested, knowing he wouldn't and wondering if she should call out for Luke.

He took slow measured breaths. She would not make this easy for him, he realized. And yet, he thought with some disappointment, he had hoped she would. Especially after what had just happened to her.

"I thought we could talk." He walked over to a chair next to the bed and sat down, still keeping a significant distance from her.

"I'll remind you I'm no longer a member of the Alliance and therefore not privileged to any information that might be of use to you." She replied coldly, wondering if this scene reminded him of her interrogation on the Death Star as much as it did her. "Droid or not."

She was testing him. Baiting him for an outburst. She probably wanted to prove him to be the monster she truly believed he was. Five years ago it would have worked. With much less enticement that this he would have reached out and choked the very life out of her. He visualized it in his mind, the image both thrilling and sickening him.

Things were different now. She was his daughter and she was just lashing out, he told himself. It was what he wanted, after all, to get everything out in the open, as painful as it would be for both of them.

He reigned in his anger, taking a long calming breath. "I know you dislike me and-"

"Dislike!" She interrupted him, her expression exuding disbelief. "I don't dislike you. I _despise_ you."

"Will you allow me to speak?" For all his annoyance at being interrupted, Leia noticed curiously, he seemed unfazed at her declaration of hate. She couldn't believe it, after all he'd done to her he really expected to have a good father to daughter chat.

"You really have no idea, do you?" she asked softly. She had her answer when he tilted his head in confusion. "What is this? What are you doing?" She gestured to the space between them.

"I'm trying to make amends." He said quietly.

She snorted at the absurdity of his words. "Make amends? Sure." Her expression became serious once again. "Did you tell my husband you'd help find me only if he agreed to leave me here with you and Luke?"

He kicked himself mentally. He should have known that tactic would backfire. Why did he think it would be that simple? In any case, it was true, and there was no sense in lying to her now. She would easily sense it.

"Yes," he replied calmly.

"See? That's not the best way to start making amends," she said condescending. "That's blackmail. Do you even know the difference?"

"Luke and I wanted you to be with us. He misses you terribly." He watched her eyes narrow dangerously and realized playing the Luke card was a mistake.

She shook her head in amused confusion. "How could you possibly think I would agree to it?"

"I had hoped you would realize you belong with your family," he said simply, as if the though was completely obvious.

"Han is my family!" She said sternly and, with as much determination as she could muster, started limping over to the door. "And we are leaving."

In a flash Vader stood up from his seat and walked over to her. "You are not healed yet, Leia."

"I don't care! I'm well enough to fly and I don't want to spend one more minute on this cursed planet with you." She felt his gloved hand reach out for her arm and immediately recoiled. She turned fuming brown eyes on his clear blue ones. "Don't you dare touch me."

With his patience wearing thin the threat in his voice was impossible to disguise. "Leia, I warn you my temper is as short as yours."

She reached for the door lock but the door remained shut. A quick glance at the power grid beside her showed there power supply was intact, and she knew then with certainty that he was deliberately keeping it closed. She felt anxiety bubbling to the surface. The fear and anger at finding herself in an enclosed space with only him and no means of escape created a horrifying sense of déjà vu and she sensed hysteria would not be too far off.

"Let me out!" She yelled at him as her heart began to race. "Open the door!"

"Not until you calm down." He replied loudly.

Flashes of her interrogation on the first Death Star blazed through her mind and she let out a scream of equal parts despair and frustration. She started pounding on the door with her good arm. "Let me go, now! I want to go home!"

Vader's patience gave out. "THIS IS YOUR HOME!" he roared.

She stilled immediately at the anger in his voice and turned to him. She'd never heard him yell like that before. Even at the height of his ruthlessness and cruelty, he'd always seemed so composed. Slight tendrils of fear began to creep around her and suddenly the room felt even colder. She raised her chin defiantly in challenge.

"And this is where you'll stay." Though his voice was now much quieter it held no less menace.

If after testing the limit of his patience Leia had finally found it, so had Vader found Leia's. Her expression hardened and Vader felt for the first time pure unfiltered hatred from his daughter. When she spoke her voice was soft and almost inaudible, but her tone bitterly cold just like her eyes, which until now had never looked so different to Padme's. "I would rather die."

Temporarily at a loss for words, Vader didn't have a chance to respond. Leia turned back to the door and placed her palm flat against it concentrating hard on a task she had no idea how to accomplish. She didn't know how she did it, but one minute her palm was lightly pushing against the door and the next it had flown across the waiting area outside her room and smashed into the opposite wall, barely missing a confused Han as he and Luke stood there watching them with wide eyes.

Vader regarded his daughter in disbelief as she herself stared at her outstretched hand in wonder. He had no idea how she had managed use the Force in such a manner without channeling the Dark Side. He wondered if Luke had helped her out and as he slowly met Luke's eyes he realized that yes, he had in fact helped her. He felt a swell of pride and awe that his children were so powerful, so…magnificent.

Leia didn't dwell on it. She surged forwards and limped over to Han who was still staring at her in shock. "We're leaving, Han," she said angrily.

"Leia?" Luke asked, turning from Leia to his father, desperate for an explanation.

"Where's the Falcon, Han?" She repeated. "Han! We're leaving. Let's go!" Han came out of his trance and moved to steady her.

"Leia," Vader finally said, walking slowly after them. "Leia. We're not finished talking."

"I don't want to hear anything more you have to say." She continued her path to the exit of the medical facility not sparing him a look back. "We're done."

"Do not walk away from me!" He yelled as they approached the doors.

The metal doors slammed shut in front of Leia and Han just as they were about to walk through them. Han turned around looking at Vader with worry in his eyes. Leia's eyes flashed with an anger burning so hot, Vader almost thought he was back in Mustafar.

"Let us go," she warned.

"We're not finished, here," Vader said dangerously. "And let me assure you, that door only _I_ can open." He looked at Luke as he finished his sentence.

Luke swallowed hard and wondered where the argument could go from here, suddenly wishing he were on the other side of the doors.

"You can't make me stay," she stated defiantly.

Vader smiled slightly. "Yes, I can."

"How? You'll freeze me in Carbonite and hang me up on your wall?" She spat out venomously. She felt Han's hand around her own tighten.

"Be careful, Leia. I would hate to lose my restraint."

"I will escape," she said with a note of finality.

He walked slowly over to Leia until he towered over her. To her credit she looked right up at him. "_You_ might," he said with a fleeting glance at Han.

She deflated instantly. She felt such defeat, such hopelessness. She knew that if he really wanted to keep her there he could, and probably would. And while he probably wouldn't harm her if she attempted an escape, chances were, he would use Han. She almost laughed at the irony. Han had now become the bargaining chip. Her heart was breaking. How could she make this man realize he was asking for the impossible?

"How much more are you going to take from me?" Her defiance and boldness left her quickly, and her voice came out so heartbroken and forlorn she couldn't believe it was hers. She was just so tired of harboring so much anger. It was exhausting. "I have so little left. What do you want from me?"

"I want you to be my daughter," Vader said gently, surprised at how much her admission had affected him.

"You're twenty-five years too late." She shook her head and stared up at him earnestly. "What you ask is impossible."

"For twenty years I thought you dead. Nothing is impossible."

"This is," she said sadly. "I can't give you what you want."

"You can, Leia, but you don't want to. I have changed. I have renounced the Dark Side."

"For how long?" she demanded, stung that he implied her stubbornness was all that stood in the way of his salvation. "What happens when you decide it's too hard? When you tire of playing the good guy?"

"I was young when I joined the Dark Side. It was a mistake."

She shook her head in sad resignation. "Listen to yourself. Mistake? You call it a mistake?" she found it impossible to keep the accusation out of her voice. "You were a great Jedi and you turned your back on everything!"

"The Jedi turned against me. I was betrayed. Forced into the Emperor's grip."

"No!" she screamed finally, unable to listen to any more of his excuses. "Accept responsibility for your actions. You chose the Dark Side. _You!_ You didn't make a mistake. No one pushed you. You fell."

He stared at her pointing finger, crest-fallen. "Yes, and my fall cost me everything. I realize this now."

"Cost _you_ everything?" She asked incredulously. "Have you thought about what your fall cost the people around you? The people who loved you? The people you were supposed to love back?"

"It was never my intention to harm anyone." It was true, but it suddenly sounded like such a pitiable sentiment, even to him.

"It was never your intention to destroy the Jedi Order? To butcher innocent children? To kill your master and best friend?"

He swallowed past the lump in his throat. "The Emperor ordered it."

"So it was justifiable then?" She paused as her eyes filled with tears. "To kill the wife carrying your children?"

His face fell and he visibly staggered. An Image of Padme flashed through his mind and he choked on his words. "I did not kill your mother. She died during childbirth."

"Were you there? Did you see it? Were you there when we were born? She died because of _you_!" She let the tears fall down her face freely, no longer caring about hiding the pain he'd caused her and everyone left behind his path of destruction. He was the one who wanted to talk in the first place and she was not about to hold back. He'd asked for this.

"Because of you I never knew my mother! She never read me bedtime stories, she was never at my wedding and she will never see my children! Because of you I lost the only father I ever knew. A good, kind, man who raised me and loved me and taught me right from wrong. Things _you_ were supposed to do! You took my mother, my parents, my planet… and now, Luke. My twin." She ventured a look towards Luke. He looked shattered and she couldn't bear to hold his gaze. "A part of my very soul. All because you had a change of heart?"

There was so much more she wanted to say. So many accusations left. But she wasn't sure she could hold on much longer. And by the look on Vader's face, she wasn't sure how much more he could take either.

"Everyone in this room has paid in blood and tears for your _mistake_." Her voice was hoarse now, and breaking. "You have hurt me beyond any forgiveness I'm capable of. I can't cross this space between us." She stopped and looked at him sadly as if she regretted what she was about to say. "I'm sorry, father, but I can't give you what you want."

Vader remembered shedding tears as Anakin Skywalker. He remembered wanting to cry immediately after becoming Darth Vader and waking up to realize Padme had died, yet physically unable to do so. He wanted to cry now. Leia had opened up so many wounds he thought time had long healed. He wanted to stay and argue with his daughter, try to make her understand how fate worked against him, how he had made such stupid, stupid mistakes. How he regretted everything he'd done in the last twenty-five years, but none more so than the suffering and pain he'd caused his own children. But it was when she called him father for the first time that his chest constricted so painfully he thought his transplants might actually be failing, that he saw his vision blur for the first time in decades and realized his eyes were actually forming tears.

He had to leave. He wanted to look at Leia, and even Luke, but could not bring himself to see anymore of the damage he'd caused reflected in their eyes.

He closed his eyes and bent down slightly to place a soft kiss on top of Leia's head, eternally grateful she did not pull away and would at least allow him this. He straightened up again and walked around her.

"I must leave," he said opening the doors. He took a step and stopped suddenly, addressing a guard standing on the outside, but not directly facing him. "Show Captain Solo and his wife to their ship. They are free to go."

With that he walked quickly away from his daughter and her husband, certain he would never see them again.

* * *

That was intense, even for my usual beat. Let me know what you thought!


	10. Reason

**AN: sorry guys, something funky happened with the chapters. I reposted.**

* * *

**New Alderaan**

For Leia, speaking with the Naberries of Naboo was always a bittersweet experience. She emerged from those conversations feeling a profound sense of both loss and joy. They were, after all, the only link to her birth mother. Not to mention, the few family she had left.

Today's conversation had been a long and charged one, she thought to herself as she leisurely made her way to her and Han's bedroom for the night. She splayed her open hand over her lower abdomen, caressing it tenderly as she recalled the ecstatic look on her aunt Sola's face when she informed her she was five months pregnant. Sola had asked, no, _demanded_, Leia and Han visit Naboo soon. She'd agreed, of course. She and Han hadn't been to Naboo since their honeymoon and that was almost three years ago now. Though she hardly needed an excuse, Leia would hungrily seize any opportunity to visit her birth mother's home world.

Her exchange with Sola had ended on a slightly sour note, though. Vader had visited her and her ageing parents in Naboo earlier that day and, apparently not for the first time. She hadn't been as upset as she thought she might be and she wondered why that was. With nonchalance disguising genuine curiosity, Leia asked her aunt what they spoke about on those visits.

"Your mother, mostly." Sola had said with a little smile and added, "I've given him some of her things."

It seemed that in addition to his children, Vader had also sought to reconnect with the Naberries, his deceased wife's family. It was the first time Leia had heard of this and she wondered why Sola had waited until now to tell her. "Why didn't you tell me this before?" Leia asked, trying hard to keep the accusation out of her voice.

"Well, dear, you never really asked and I didn't think you'd understand. I thought, maybe now that you're about to become a parent, you might be ready." Her aunt then gave her a look that made Leia's stomach turn. She'd seen it before, on Han and Luke. It was pleading. Pleading for her to…what? Forgive him? Sola's voice softened and almost as if she were afraid _he_ would hear her, softly said "he puts flowers on her grave. Every time."

_A grave he put her in_, Leia wanted to point out. But she wasn't so sure any more. She'd asked Sola and her maternal grandparents what they knew of her mother's death, but no one was able to fill in any obvious gaps. No one in the Galaxy knew what happened in the final days of Padme Amidala's life, or the circumstances surrounding hers and Luke's birth. The only person who might be able to shed any light on this was Vader himself.

Sola had, however, told Leia countless stories of Padme's childhood; growing up in beautiful Naboo, being elected Queen and then becoming a Senator in the Republic. On one occasion she had even told her of her secret relationship with the young Jedi Padawan, Anakin Skywalker. Her father had broken all Jedi rules and codes to marry Padme, whom he'd loved for years. Sola had been one of the few people in the Galaxy to know of her mother's forbidden marriage to the young Jedi and had visited her sister and brother-in-law in Coruscant on numerous occasions. Their marriage had been a happy and passionate one, but tragically short-lived. She'd also known of the pregnancy. Sola had come to visit Padme while Anakin was away fighting in the Clone Wars and returned to Naboo a couple of months before her sister was due to give birth, vowing to return once the baby was born. She would never see Padme or Anakin again. Like many others, she had been led to believe Darth Vader killed Anakin Skywalker.

"And in a way, I suppose he did," Sola had said sadly.

"You forgive him?" Leia tentatively asked her aunt.

The smile that crossed Sola's face radiated absolute serenity, a long sought-after peace that Leia was still struggling to attain. "Yes, Leia. I finally have."

Unable to find words in response and with the faint feeling her aunt regarded her silence with some measure of disappointment, their conversation had pretty much ended there.

She reached the bedroom to find Han in bed already, reading over some brief or other. She leaned against the doorjamb and watched her husband in silence for a moment. Han excelled in his role as her Minister of Defense, but she knew he hated the paperwork and glad-handing that went along with it. Her husband was a man of action. Still, he'd risen to the challenge. His pragmatism and gut instincts served him well in his new role.

"Admiring the view, Your Highness?" He finally took his eyes of the pages on his lap. He turned to her with a wide smirk and wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.

She couldn't help but laugh and shake her head at his antics. "I just spoke to Sola. I told her about the baby."

He smiled widely, as he always did at the mere mention of his unborn child. "Let me guess," he raised his index finger to his temple, closing his eyes in a dramatic show of psychic pretense, "I foresee a trip to Naboo in the very near future."

"Well, yes, I did promise her we'd visit soon," Leia said, pushing away from to door to take a step forward into the room. She stood on the other side of the bed.

"Hey, any excuse to get out of these security briefings," he said, gathering his papers and placing them on the bedside table.

"Vader visited her today," Leia said suddenly. She watched his reaction closely.

Han's eyes shot to his wife and, as usual when the "V" word came up between them, he aimed for humor. "And she's still alive?" His eyes widened in mock disbelief.

She crossed her arms across her chest, a gesture that was getting harder to perform with every week her pregnancy progressed. "Not funny," Leia said. Han may have unofficially forgiven Vader, but she had not.

Han sobered. "And?" he probed.

She didn't want to ask, but she needed to know. "Do you think I'm being unreasonable?"

She didn't think so, not really, but everyone else clearly did. Luke, Lando, her cousin Pooja. Even Sola had essentially told her she should forgive Vader. She had to know if Han also thought so. At the end of the day it was his opinion that mattered the most to her.

He watched her calmly for a moment as he chose his words carefully. After a moment he said, "I think you have your reasons."

She narrowed her eyes at his ambiguous answer. "_I'm_ the politician in the family, Han. Give it to me straight. I'm a big girl."

He smiled at her and threw his arms in the air in an exaggerated gesture of surrender. He became serious suddenly and answered her truthfully. "I think you're being unreasonable."

"I'm not, though!" She whined, stomping her foot like she used to do in her early teen years when she didn't get her way, effectively nullifying her previous statement. "Han, after everything he's put us through, how can you even-"

Han stood up and faced his wife across their bed. He raised his open palm to interrupt her. "I'm going to stop you right there, Leia." His expression was weary, but he kept his tone gentle. "I know what he's done. Yes, it was bad. It was evil. He was a monster."

"He _is_ a monster."

"Do you want to hear what I have to say or not?" He asked impatiently. She nodded and he continued, his tone softening. "I'm worried about you."

That took her by surprise. "Me? Why?"

"Leia, this hatred and anger you're hanging on to…it's dangerous. Don't you see that? Why are you so determined to not let it go?"

"Because it's not that easy." She countered.

"It's also not that hard. What are you getting out of it? You accused your father of only thinking of himself, but what about you? Are you thinking of how much this whole thing is hurting Luke? Or me?"

Anger started swirling within her and she instantly clamped it, knowing deep down that her husband was right. Her anger at Vader was justified, she had no doubt about that, but it had also outlived its usefulness. Still, to hear her own husband suggest she dismiss it so easily stung her. "I thought you'd be on my side."

"I am always on your side, Leia. But I'm your husband, and I'm allowed to point out when you're wrong."

She nearly cried, and it had nothing to do with her hormones. She struggled to keep her voice from breaking, but still it came out weak. "You think I'm wrong?"

"About this? Yes." He said without hesitation.

"So I should just forgive him?"

"I think you should at least try."

"I can't forget everything!" She spat out angrily.

"For Sith's sake, Leia, no one's asking you to forget!" he yelled back. "Trust me, he's not likely to ever forget either. He has to live with that _and_ all the things you said to him. That's punishment enough."

She baulked, taking a step back. Her eyes widened in horror. "You're actually _defending _him? After what Vader did to us…to you."

"I'm defending your father, not Vader." Han continued before she had a chance to chime in. "You haven't even given him a chance to explain."

"I don't want to hear his explanations!"

He threw his hands in the air in frustration. "You're proving my point."

She took a deep breath and tried to rein in the tears that wouldn't take much to fall. She closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down. "I don't trust him, Han. I'm afraid that if I do…"

Watching his wife struggle with her emotions, Han's voice softened again. They were getting somewhere and he was sure as hell going to get what was really behind all this out of her. "What? What are you so afraid of?"

"He tortured me, Han," she said finally, meeting his eyes again. Her bottom lip trembled but she kept her voice steady, struggling to keep the memory of those hours on the Death Star with Vader in check. "I have never been so terrified in my life."

Han nodded and took a step around the bed towards her. "I know, darling."

"No, you don't," she said, taking a step back from him. He stopped and she continued. "I thought I was going to die, slowly and in pain. Han, he hunted us down like dogs. Are you forgetting what he did to you in Bespin? I thought I'd never see you again!"

"He was a different man." Han reasoned.

"How? Because he said so?"

"He's trying, Leia. He will never be able to prove himself to you if you don't give him a second chance."

She shook her head. "He doesn't deserve one. Not after what he's done. It's too late."

"It's never too late, and everyone deserves a second chance." He raised a hand to tilt her chin up, forcing her to look up at him. "I'm proof of that."

Her eyes widened, dismayed that he would compare himself to Vader. "It's not the same."

"Maybe not," he said letting her go but keeping his eyes on hers. "But there's a reason there was a bounty on my head, Leia. Sometimes you forget that."

"Why are you pushing this?"

"Because I don't like seeing you like this," he said with a nod at her. "Or having to walk on eggshells around you every time I visit Luke, or seeing your father's face when he realized he'd probably never meet his grandchild."

Her hand instinctively flew to her bulging abdomen, cradling it protectively. "You told him about the baby?"

"Yes, Leia, he asked how you were and I told him you were pregnant." Han said with an unapologetic shrug. "He said to tell you, congratulations."

A horrible realization washed over her. "How many times have you seen him?"

"A few," Han admitted easily, "and I also don't like that I feel I have to keep that from you. Leia, what are you going to tell our kids when they ask about all this?"

She had also thought about that. More than she cared to admit. But everything that had happened and everything she felt preceded that. "Don't bring the children we don't yet have into the argument."

"Soon I won't have to." He said pointing at her pregnant belly before turning the finger on her. "And by the way, I intend on our children knowing him." She raised her eyebrow at him and his finger, and for a split second Han wondered if he should point out how much that little gesture reminded him of Vader. Wisely, he didn't. "In fact, I insist."

"Do you, now?" She asked coolly.

"Yes." Han said adamantly. He waved the finger in her general direction and added, "this anger is toxic, and his guilt is crushing him. Luke and I are caught in the middle with no way to fix it and I'm not having my child thrown into this, too."

"You're making it sound like this whole situation is my fault, Han." She said, wounded. "I just…I don't believe him."

"Then believe _me,_ Leia. He is really, truly sorry." Han said desperately. "For everything. He's not asking to be your best friend. Just that you try to get past this. Please try. _I'm_ asking you now. For our family."

It was a dirty trick, bringing their child into it. But it worked. She felt guilty already about the possibility she might have poisoned her child with her own anger. That she would be the one keeping their family apart. She took a seat on the edge of their bed and looked up at Han uncertainly. "I wouldn't know where to start."

Han exhaled slowly, realizing it had finally happened; her anger was melting. His lips pulled into a smirk. "How about telling him how you killed Jabba the Hutt."

She smiled at the memory of strangling the vile Hutt with his own chain. "You told him about that?"

"Well, I didn't tell him about the outfit he made you wear," he said teasingly.

He was rewarded with a playful slap on his thigh. "Han!"

"Are you kidding? He loves that story!" He placed a knee beside her and bent down to kiss her, his lips brushing softly against hers. A smile spread across his face when she grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down to her as she lay back on the bed. "Probably not as much as I do, though."

He followed her down, covering her body with his. He loved that their arguments always ended like this. They would continue their conversation in the morning, but for now, it was a good start. "My warrior princess."

"Mmm," she moaned as she felt his weight settle over her and her hands flew to the buttons of his shirt. "My beautiful pirate."

He braced himself up, enough to be able to look down at her flushed face. "I love you," he said huskily, brushing a strand of hair from her face tenderly.

She looked up into his eyes and smiled happily. "I know."

* * *

AN: Hi guys, another chapter already! Yay!

I had a lot of fun writing this one. I was starting to get a little fed up with Leia's attitude too. I figured, if anyone can put her in her place it would be Han. Not that she's not entitled to her feelings, but enough already!

There's just one more chapter after this. You can probably guess who's going to be in it and possibly how it might go. It's going to be pretty angsty. I have most of it written, but it needs a little more work. So, keep your panties on and your eyes open.

I'd like to thank all those who've reviewed. There was a moment there in the early chapters where I just got stuck and was going to pull the plug on the story, but then I went through the reviews and thought it would be really mean to just do that. I hate it when it happens too, you get into a story and then it's just left unfinished. So anti-climatic.

Thank you all for following and reviewing:

**Sandcate** – I agree, what Vader's done is unforgivable, but at some point she has to realize her anger achieves nothing now. Don't worry though, they're not just going to kiss and make up.

**Rookworm **– I know I kinda left Luke out of the loop on this fic. But I really did want to focus on Leia and Vader.

**Rosesforever294** – thanks! Just one more chap now. I would totally consider making this longer, or a sequel, but to be honest, I don't think I could pull it off. But…never say never.

**Angie **– Thanks. Yes, this family has truly suffered.

**Sweetsong128** – It was pretty hard for me to write those last few paragraphs too!

**tmharris** – ass clinching? Wow! That's sounds intense.

**Katyperry22, Ccp, ILDV, IntelEwok, Nilihil, Alley0100, tojolou, Imnotraven16, VFSNAKE, kittyhawk09, Megan, mythical-dragon48, Paully, Charmedjedi, BabaBiP, SOONsoonSOON, Kenna Hijja, Kingsdaughter613, Iwould'vebeenAlexia, elou894, MissCHSparkles, Nijari, Admiral Daala, ad23, missiongirl87, Coco, Ching Chang Chong, Cyranothe2nd, cooliokiddo, SZ, Niju-Vala, I love dance, freekle, LadyDae, Kelaria, Cherokee Jedi, ItSMeAmbeR, Zigflorian, and…Guest.**

Please review and see you next chapter!

Toodles,

Andrea


	11. Forgiven (Pt 1)

I apologise profusely that it has taken me so long to update. Since the last update I've been working on an XMen fic, and this one kind of got put aside.

I've been struggling a little with the end and since it's not quite done, but I also don't want to make everyone wait endlessly, i thought I'd split the last chappie into two (it kinda has two bits to it anyway). Here's is the first part of the final chapter. Enjoy.

* * *

**Coruscant**

"Lord Vader?"

With a deep calming breath Vader shifted his attention from the star maps he'd been studying to Admiral Piett.

"What is it, Piett?" He hadn't meant to snap at the man, who already looked more than just a little apprehensive for interrupting him. He had just become entirely engrossed in his task, and he could almost feel like he was reaching a breakthrough.

Since his son announced his wish to restore the Jedi Order, Luke had lived and breathed that mission with his characteristic single-mindedness. Initially, Vader had encouraged him as a means of keeping Luke happy, but then as his own taste for absolute power and political intrigue began to wane, he also took it upon himself to help his son rebuild the ancient Order. It would not only provide a fitting stepping stone on his path to redemption, but a welcome distraction as well. Ever since his confrontation with Leia, Vader had desperately looked for a worthy cause in which to lose himself. Scouting the Galaxy for Force-sensitive beings had turned into a time-consuming and, surprisingly, deeply satisfying enterprise. They had already discovered over a dozen potential Padawans and, for the first time in years, Vader felt a gentle swell of contentment and hope. The methods he'd once used to ruthlessly hunt down and destroy the Jedi could now be used to begin undoing that wrong, and maybe, just maybe, he could wash some of the blood off his hands.

"You have a visitor," declared Piett, his eyes twinkling with obvious meaning.

Vader frowned. He wasn't expecting anyone. It was also quite rare for anyone to call in at such an early hour, especially at his private residence. More to the point, only a handful of people knew he was currently in Coruscant. As far as everyone was concerned, Lord Vader was traipsing around the Galaxy with his son searching for Jedi recruits, which coincidentally was what he really wanted to get back to doing.

"I am otherwise occupied," Vader said dismissively. Eager to return to his previous task, he regarded Piett impatiently when he didn't move. This time he did mean to snap. "What?"

"It's Princess Leia… Organa-Solo," said Piett, adding her full name cautiously. He wasn't sure what would be the best way to announce her; _your daughter?_ Too forward, _Leia?_ Too informal. It didn't matter, though. The stunned look on Vader's face would have looked just as comical regardless of what he called her. Piett held back a smile as Vader's eyes widened in slight panic and darted from him to the door.

"Luke's not here," Vader said in a less than eloquent fashion.

"I told her so, Sir." Piett allowed himself to smile this time. "She said she's here to see _you_."

Vader reached into the Force and felt the all-too-familiar sensation of a nearby Force-sensitive present. Yes, it was Leia. His child. Here. To see him.

"Show her through," Vader said finally, star maps and Jedi forgotten.

In the minute it took Piett to escort Leia into his private study, all Vader had time to do was remove his cape and light saber, before clumsily thrusting them into a drawer. He glanced briefly at the mirror and regarded his reflection with slight resignation. It was as close to unintimidating as he could manage.

His heart was suddenly pounding and he briefly considered sitting down. The last time they'd spoken had been less than pleasant, but as far as he could remember, he hadn't done anything to further anger her. Why was she here?

But there was no time to further ponder. Leia walked in silently, her eyes eagerly studying the room before landing on his own.

"Your Highness," Vader said with a slight bow of his head. His heart swelled as he took her in. Her long dark hair contained in a sensible braid, the light-colored flight suit hugging her heavily pregnant form. She looked so much like Padme on the last day he saw her that he had to lean back on his desk for support. He gestured for her to move further into the room, but all she managed was a couple of steps while Piett closed the door behind him.

"I think we can probably move past formality now." She said with a barely noticeable smile.

"As you wish, Leia." He gestured for her to take a seat.

She shook her head, "I'd rather stand." She regarded him for a moment, carefully finding innocuous words to start the conversation. "You've been conspicuously absent from the Senate lately."

"I thought my absence might be welcome." He said carefully, watching her closely. "I have sent representatives. Are there any matters you believe I should address personally?"

She fidgeted, suddenly feeling awkward discussing politics with him. It seemed such a trifling matter after all that had happened between them.

"Well, just one, maybe" said Leia, pulling out a brief from her satchel. "I'm drafting a bill to present to the Senate at the next meeting. I wondered if you could take a look at it first."

He nodded, trying not to smile. She wasn't here for the bill or his opinion on it. They both new it. It was just the excuse she needed to make herself talk to him.

"Of course," he said gravely, playing along.

She took a hesitant step forward and tentatively held the brief out to him at arm's reach. "The Trade Federation is gathering steam again. They're extending their reach to the Outer Rim."

"Let me guess," he said crossing the distance to her, "you want New Alderaan left alone."

As soon as he took the file from her hand, she took a step back, as if even that indirect contact had been too much. "Not just New Alderaan. I want my entire sector exempt."

He raised an eyebrow at her demand. "Bold."

She remained silent as he quickly browsed through her drafted bill, trying to ignore her searching gaze. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her chewing slightly on her bottom lip and he tried hard not to smile at her nervousness. He would have to read it more carefully later, but the brief was beyond daring. He could see both himself and Padme in it, in her.

His eyes fixed on hers with barely contained amusement and awe at her sheer audacity. "A free trade zone?"

"I have full support of my Cabinet _and_ the Alliance." She took a deep breath and let her defiance and overconfidence give way to what she was truly feeling. She would never win the votes she needed with false bravado. "Look, we're a new planet with a population comprised mostly of refugees and a fledgling economy. It's the only way we can stay afloat."

"It's not the only way," he challenged.

She stood rigid and her voice hardened. "We're not joining the Empire."

He nodded solemnly. He didn't think she would. "I have dealt with the Trade Federation before, Leia. They're not known for their leniency."

"Neither are you," she shot back.

He tilted his head, unwilling to be drawn into the debate. "You want me to push this without a Senate hearing?"

"Of course not," she said horrified he thought she would agree to that. "I'd like you to read it and tell me if my terms are unreasonable."

"But you expect me to support you on this?"

She bristled with indignation and he briefly regretted provoking a heavily pregnant woman. One who was related to him no less.

"I expect you to be fair, considering what the Empire did to Alderaan. Leave aside our kinship and your affiliation with the Trade Fed-"

"There is no such affiliation." This time _he_ bridled at her insinuation.

She snorted in weary derision. "You're going to tell me they're not in your pocket?"

"That was Palpatine. I hold no love for the Trade Federation, Leia." He stood tense. "You know, when your mother stood against them, they tried to have her assassinated."

Her eyes widened. "They did?"

"Yes," he said remembering those days wistfully. He and Padme and budding young love. "Obi Wan and I were assigned to protect her."

_In the end all they had to do was wait you out._

That's what she wanted to say, but the words caught in her throat. She found, with some relief, that she couldn't actually be that cruel. Even to him, the only being in the universe who deserved it. She kept the comment to herself and tentatively steered the conversation away from the still very sensitive topic of her mother.

"Perhaps one day, you'll tell me about it." She wondered if he knew how much that simple sentence had cost her. How much those words had resisted coming out of her.

A flash of hope crossed his face, and just like that it was gone, replaced once again by his cool civility. "Of course."

"Do you think they'll attempt something similar?" She hadn't considered the possibility of the Trade Federation going so far as to attempt her assassination, but then, she wouldn't go so far as to rule it out completely either.

"Knowing our kinship, I doubt they would risk it." He didn't doubt it, actually. He was sure they wouldn't dare. But there was no need to point that out to her now. Not when their conversation was flowing relatively smoothly. "However, it would be prudent to tighten your security. If you intend to proceed, that is."

"I do," she said staunchly. "I'm taking this to the next Senate meeting."

"I will look through it and give you my thoughts. Leave it with me." He clasped his hands together at his back. "Anything else?"

"No, I mean…yes, it…but it's-" Her words caught in her throat and she cursed herself for getting so tongue-tied at the most inopportune of moments. Like in her early days with Han. She closed her eyes and unconsciously mimicked her father's stance, holding her hands behind her back tightly to stop them from shaking. She looked up at him gingerly. "I didn't come here just to talk politics. I came to see you."

As painful and tense as the conversation would be, she had been waiting too long for this very moment to back out now. This was it. Without his mask she could easily read all his expressions. He had never bothered hiding them before, as his mask had provided an ideal veneer. His voice, having been modulated by the breathing apparatus for so long, was also untrained in hiding his real emotions. She drank it all in. Her formative years in the royal house of Alderaan and her time in the Senate had taught her how to read people. She could do it with anyone. It was so easy with her father now. Not only could she pinpoint his feelings through the force, but he was now naked for all intent and purposes. He had nothing to hide behind.

He knew it too and to her delight, he seemed suddenly uncomfortable and nervous standing before her. If possible, his spine straightened even further, as if bracing himself. She would have laughed at this ironic twist, at how the tables turned. She almost told him that, too. But for some reason, it didn't seem appropriate to make light of their very precarious truce.

"I'm happy you came to see me, Leia." His voice was guarded and hesitant, as if he knew this was too good to be true.

"I didn't come for you," she said bitingly and took a deep calming breath. She hadn't come to start a fight. She had come for answers, for closure, for peace of mind. She looked up at him earnestly. "I'm sorry…but it's true."

With cold realization, he smiled sadly. "Luke asked you to come."

She smiled ruefully and shook her head. "Han did, actually."

"Solo?" He was surprised at this revelation. Occasionally he crossed paths with his son-in-law, on the rare occasion Solo and Luke met. Their exchanges had been civil, but hardly enough to warrant such a gesture from the smuggler.

"My husband doesn't think I've been myself since…well, since our recent reunion." She stopped, to make sure he was paying attention. He was, so she continued, "I disagree. I believe I haven't been myself since Endor. Of course, so much changed that day, I suppose it's not all that surprising no one noticed. But I noticed."

She faltered for a moment, suddenly feeling like she was opening herself up too much to him. He didn't deserve to hear her open her heart like that. Then she reminded herself why she had come to do this. It was for her benefit, she needed to get these things off her chest if she was ever going to move past it. Hopefully, he would reciprocate. She had to take the first step, though.

"I started feeling all this anger, all this hate, building and slowly eating away at me. Changing me." She watched him closely. "And I hate it. I cannot bear what it's turning me into. I'm better than that," she said defiantly before fixing him with an accusing stare. "I'm better than _you._"

He swallowed and nodded slightly. "Yes," he whispered, humbly agreeing with her.

"I don't know what it will take to get us through this," she said gesturing to the metaphoric space between them. "To be honest with you, I'm not sure I can. But I have to at least try. Not just for Luke's sake or Han' sake. Not even for my own. But for my children. I don't want them to be a part of this mess."

She felt a wave of hope from her father and she gave him a moment to respond to what she had said so far. He seemed cautious, almost like he didn't fully trust what was happening. What she was offering.

His response was restrained. "I would like nothing more than for us to put the past behind us."

She laughed humorlessly and shook her head ruefully. "No, it's not that easy, I'm sorry. I can't just put the past behind me. I can't forget the things you've done as easily as Luke apparently has. I guess I'm not as compassionate, or forgiving. That's _my_ problem, though."

He opened his mouth to respond, to argue with her that she _was_ that compassionate, that she _was_ that forgiving, and that the reason she couldn't was him. But the look on her face stopped him. She was daring him to disagree. He didn't think she wanted him to humor her, she just wanted him to listen to what she was saying. He knew it had taken a lot of courage to bring herself here, so he let her lead the conversation.

"I will do anything you wish…if you want more time or-"

"I want answers!" she cut him off harshly. "I want the truth. I _need_ to understand."

Once again he went silent. He bowed slightly and turned apprehensive blue eyes to her. He knew the kind of questions she would ask would no doubt dredge up some of his most horrifying memories. He wished he could borrow some of her courage now.

"Ask me anything, Leia."

* * *

Just one more to go! I know how it ends, but I need to get the dialogue right. Hang tight peeps, I'll get it out I promise!


End file.
